Inspired by Death Sentence: The Hidden Agenda
by ElleSpencer
Summary: A woman learns that an attack that destroyed her life in minutes was not a random act. She's now hell bent for vengeance. Will Billy Darley figure out what her plans are to stop her? Rated M for strong language and sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Bones Body Shop

**Chapter 1 – Bones Body Shop**

"_What you do  
No one can decide it's up to you  
And who you are is what you choose  
These times when the world falls apart  
Make us who we are"_

"The End has Only Begun" – Lifehouse

"This must be it," Jules thought. She drove her pickup truck closer and took a look at the address and the location. The supposed car shop was literally a large junkyard. It completely looked like a car cemetery that happened to be enclosed by chain link fencing. There was one main building in the center. It had a sign with black letters that read "Bones Body Shop."

Since there was no clear parking area, Jules parked her truck close to the front gates. She got out of the car guardedly. The place was eerily quiet. As a security measure, she had brought a small gun with her. She concealed it by carrying it in a holster around her ankle.

Jules opened the gate to get in. She then began examining the place and started walking to the main building. Jules thought the place was a dump. It was obvious that the shop was really a cover for illegal activities.

She heard a dog barking somewhere. As she spotted the entrance to the actual building, a brown pit bull jumped at her. Luckily for her, the dog was well-chained. Jules had instinctively sought out her gun but seeing that it was just an animal, she put it away.

She walked inside the building with caution. It was a little dark inside. As she entered, there were some huge ventilation fans to her left. They gave the place an industrial feel to it. Although the place seemed to be deserted, it's was not empty. There were clear signs of activity. She saw flying sparks here and there which meant that there was some actual shop work going on after all. Jules could see that that Darleys weren't as stupid as she had thought. They were covering their tracks with some actual vehicle work.

Jules saw a long hallway that led to an arch doorway and a very messy back office. As she walked through the hall, she heard some of the men whistling at her. Jules was unfazed by them. She was there on a mission.

The shop was filled with a terrible scent of sweat, dirt and filth. Ever since she was a little girl, she had a strong sensitivity to scents and smells. Unfortunately, she was most sensitive to foul smells. They sickened her. She was feeling quite disgusted to be in this shop.

Jules had made it a point to come well prepared today. Just as her contact had instructed her to do, she had brought cash with her and had prepared a detailed list of the guns she needed to buy. It was ironic that her contact, Big Jim, had set her up with a dealer named Bones Darley. She already knew all about Darley and his crew but didn't say a thing to Big Jim. He had explained to her that Bones was quite accommodating with "cash-paying" customers. This is exactly what she needed; she needed weapons fast and painlessly without a lot questions being asked.

Jules actually knew most everything she needed to know about Bones Darley and his crew. From her dealings with the police, she was pretty familiar with all the metro area gangs. The Darleys were a recurrent interest because Bones Darley was a well-known fixture in the criminal and underground communities. Everyone knew his primary interests where drug and weapons dealings. Although his oldest son was considered to be the leader of the Darley gang, a crew of tattooed drug dealers and thugs, she understood that Bones was really the puppet master behind the operation. Apparently, he liked to keep a tight leash on his men, especially his two sons: Billy and Joe. Billy, the oldest, had a reputation for being a cold blooded killer. He was also well-known for having a short "fuse" and being a womanizer. Bones' youngest son, Joe, was the weak link in the chain. Joe was basically considered the family "fuck up." The car shop was central command in terms how orders where handed in and out regarding their two main "business interests."

A male voice extracted Jules from her thoughts.

"Lookee, what we got here. Good-for-nothing Billy is not here woman so go back to do shopping, whoring around, or whatever it is that you do. Get the fuck out!"

She turned around and saw him. Jules wanted to asses him before responding. She was surprised to find him looking the way he did. He looked like a wreck and as if business had not been booming as much as he expected it to be.

"I'm Jules and I'm actually looking for another Darley, Bones Darley."

"Ain't my lucky day? What do you want?"

"I need your help with this," she said. She stretched out her hand and gave him the list that she had thoughtfully crafted.

Bones began examining the list. "That's a pretty long and specific list for someone like you," he pointed out to her.

"Let's just say I have a lot of problems," she answered calmly.

"Well, it looks like you are going to have to take your fucking problems elsewhere."

"Your friend, Big Jim, pointed me in your direction. He said you were the man and that you like transactions paid in cash. I'm good and ready Bones."

"Sweet pea, I see that you did your homework but that ain't going to get you in with me. I don't know you and nobody told me to fucking expect you in here. Since my opinion is the one that fucking counts, you can go back the same way you came from."

Jules was fuming and decided that she was not going to take no for an answer from Bones

"Bones, you and Big Jim go way back. You know he wouldn't have sent over just anyone."

"I don't deal with people I don't know and even less if they are a woman like you."

"Do you think that I'm a cop? Is that it? She lifted the front of her shirt. I'm not wired, see? You can check me. Come on Bones, let's do business."

Bones laughed again.

"That was a nice peep-show darling! Some of my boys would have probably fallen for it but you got a thing about you that rubs me the wrong fucking way. Go away to do your nails or hair or whatever it is that you like doing to make yourself feel better sweetheart."

"You don't have to like me Bones. I get the goods, you get the money. We both win, it's that simple."

"No can do. You can leave my fucking sight now! I have an appointment coming up and I don't want you in here. Buh-bye"

"Fuck you!" she said angrily.

Jules stormed out of Bones' Shop in a fury. She had to think of something fast. His refusal put a dent on her plans especially regarding the timeline she had set forth. Time was ticking. Jules was annoyed that nowshe would have to spend more time finding another dealer in the black market.

Big Jim had also failed her big time. He was supposed to have this set up and ready for her. He obviously hadn't bothered to do jack shit. He had also told her that this transaction was going to be an easy and painless one. Big Jim had been wrong in both counts. She had been a little skeptical of what he had said to her given Bones' reputation. The only thing that she wasn't surprised about was the fact that Bones had been a first degree asshole to her.

Now, she was heading straight out to see Big Jim. He was going to have to explain to her why she had wasted her time that morning. Big Jim was about to get a hell of a bitching session from her.

As she walked out of the shop and headed to her car, she saw a man coming in with a backpack. He looked like a neo-Nazi with the shaved head, goatee and tattoos snaking down all around his neck. He was wearing a long brown leather coat and was smoking.

He spotted her and was slightly startled to see her walking out of the shop. Jules knew exactly who he was and now he was walking towards her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The Loop hole

_ "She's got a pretty smile__  
__it covers up the poison__  
__that she hides"__  
__"Only One" - Lifehouse_

When Jules saw the man wearing the brown long leather coat was walking in her direction, she decided she was going to avoid engaging him at all costs.

As he got closer to her, he began giving her a curious but suspicious look.

When he passed her by, Jules looked away from him. She was not in the mood to deal with him at the moment.

As Jules opened the chain link gate to leave, she immediately noticed that a black Mustang had parked next to her pick-up truck. A black dude was sitting in the passenger side.

"Hey beautiful! What is someone like you doing in here?" he said.

Jules thought it was too much of a coincidence: the black Mustang, Billy Darley having just walked by and a Black tattooed dude waiting outside Bones' shop. Right-hand man Bodie was talking to her and opportunity was knocking at her door.

Jules offered him a nice warm smile. She walked up to the driver's window and leaned forward to talk to him. As she rested her arms on the Mustang's car door, Jules could tell he was appreciating her "assets." She didn't care at all if he could see beyond her cleavage as she leaned over the window. She needed to make this particular transaction happen so she was willing to use _anything_ to help her cause.

"Hi there," she said in a playful tone. "Do you know this Bones guy well?"

"You could say that," he responded with great interest.

"Do you work for him?"

"Indirectly."

"Well, maybe you can enlighten me a little bit. He just refused to sell me stuff. Have any idea of why? He didn't seem to like me. Does he not like women buyers or is just me and my bad luck?" she asked trying to sound as helpless as possible.

The black man left out a hearty laugh.

"He's just a very particular man and he doesn't know you. If I was him, I would have made damn sure we would have agreed to a mutually satisfying arrangement," he said openly flirting with her. "I can think of a few things that could seal a deal between us."

Jules smiled in her mind. Bodie was game and so was she.

"Well, I'd be very interested in working out a loophole with you. I think we should go for it." Jules responded flirting back to him.

"Let's see what you need baby."

"Not much. Here's my list."

"Damn girl. In what kind of trouble are you?"

"There are two things you need to know about me. I am a very accommodating person and I don't like questions to be asked about my business," Jules stated firmly.

Jules demeanor had turned serious. Bodie picked up on it immediately.

"Look, my problem is not with you or anyone in this Rockside neighborhood. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, you should also know that I pay well and in cash," she added in a more relaxed tone.

"Sweetening the pot huh? I'll see what I can do."

"Here's my number," she said while she gave him a piece of paper with her cell phone number. "I'm Jules by the way."

"I'm Bodie."

Jules smiled out of amusement. He had no clue that she already knew a lot about him. She was completely confident that Bodie was waiting in there for Billy to turn in the night shift's money and to get marching orders from that son of a bitch of Bones.

All of the sudden, Jules detected the scent of nicotine near by. Someone who happened to be smoking was getting close to them. The scent made her turn around right away. Someone was about to join them and that someone was Billy Darley. He was puffing away and was now standing right behind her. It looked like he was done with his meeting with Bones. Jules had completely busted him checking her ass.

Jules figured he had to be the driver of the Mustang so she stepped away from the window to give him room to get in the car. Since he didn't say a thing, she didn't really didn't acknowledge him either.

"Well Bodie, let's make this a win-win okay?" Jules said as she took a step back. "Call me."

"Excuse me," she said as she accidentally bumped into Billy. Again he didn't say a word to her so Jules continued walking to her car. She got in her truck and sped off to the main road.

Billy opened up his car's door and sat in the driver's seat.

"So what you do Bodie? Did you fucking cry to get her attention?" he teased him.

"Fuck you Billy! What? You don't think I can't land a piece of ass like that?"

Billy began laughing loudly as he started the car. His meeting with Bones had been decent for a change. That was a good thing on its own. What had been even better was to find a woman like that wearing a pair of low-cut tight jeans leaning on his car door with her ass sticking out. It didn't look like she was wearing any underwear either. He could think real quickly of 3 or 4 things he wanted to do to her while she was standing in that position.

"That was a damn fine piece of ass indeed," he said. "What the fuck she wanted with you?"

Bodie felt strongly that, on occasion, somebody needed to give Billy a hard time to keep him in check. With all the shit he had to put up from him on a regular basis, he enjoyed taking up that job whenever the timing was right. Timing was perfect right now. Billy seemed to be in a good mood so it was time to push some buttons. Just for fun, Bodie was laughing with Billy but was not planning on responding to his question.

"Dick head, when I ask a fucking question, I want a fucking answer!" Billy yelled angrily at him. "Next time, you decide to be a fucking wise guy with me, I will fuck with your money. You got that Bodie? "

Bodie nodded yes but deep down was annoyed at Billy's ever present short fuse.

"Relax dude," Bodie responded in a calm manner. "She had a shopping list that Bones refused to supply for her."

"Aren't you being such a fucking Einstein today? Bones already fucking told me that."

"She wanted to know if Bones had a problem with women in general or if it was just with her. She also gave me her list to see if I could do something about it."

Billy chuckled at the comment. That sounded like Bones indeed.

"So what the fuck happened to her? Did she find her man fucking someone else and now she's pissed off? And where's the fucking list?"

As Bodie handed off the list, Billy began looking at it while driving. "Lemme see….. Fuck! This bitch is crazy. Did she say what she was going to do?"

"Negative, dog."

"And you didn't fucking ask her what she was up to, did you?" Billy said in a irritated manner. "Well, she did have that look like her shit don't stink. No wonder Bones turned her ass down. "

Bodie had to laugh at that comment.

"You're just saying that coz the hot mamma hardly bothered in checking you out dog!" he said getting back harshly at Billy. Bodie knew that had to be eating him up, that wasn't the usual reaction that Billy got from women.

Bodie noticed that Billy was now giving him a furious stare and decided to back up and fast.

"She did ask if we could work out a little loop hole to get pass Bones. The list is not that big Billy. Except for the semi-automatic, everything else is manageable. It appeared that she could also cough up the money easily. Looks like a little side job for us, if you fucking ask me."

Bodie noticed that Billy's expression had suddenly changed again and that he now had a grin on his face.

"You truly are a fucking entrepreneur Bodie," Billy said. "Well, fucking look into it then. We got our own stash of guns but I'm sure we could figure out a way to tap somehow into Bones' supply without him knowing. I need to recoup the money Heco made me loose with that last bad batch."

"I'll get into it right away Billy."

As Billy drove them to a place that the crew called "the Office", Billy began thinking of Bones and how he distrusted women in general. Unlike his father, he didn't distrust or shied away from women. In his eyes, women were both a necessary evil and a disposable commodity. He knew well that his opinion sounded like a contradiction but he wasn't interested in reconciling a compromise with both of his extreme views. He just opted for the practical path: he used women until he got what he needed from them (sex) and then he set them free when he felt like it. Again, unlike his father, landing a woman he liked to get what he wanted was never a problem for him.

As he sped up, the image of that particular tight ass in the low cut jeans was still on his mind. Billy began thinking of ways to work that loop hole to his advantage beyond the financial benefits of the deal. He knew he would figure out a way to work this out to his personal gain.


	3. Chapter 3

_"Here comes the rain again__  
__falling from the stars__  
__drenched in my pain again__  
__becoming who we are…"_

_"Wake Me Up When September Ends" - Green Day_

Today was one of those days where Jules felt that the pain for her loss was as acute as the day it all had happened. She had tried and tried to let go but couldn't forget it. Moving forward with her life would have been the easiest choice for her. For some reason, she had been unable to do it.

After dealing with a tragedy like the one she had to deal with, pain and all its related emotions had taken a life on its own.

The pain she felt demanded her to change her life course and to become the person she was now. Although she was well on her way with her plans, pain was a relentless emotion. It kept on pushing her non-stop. It even made her set up a timeline to carry out her vengeance that she could not back down from.

That morning her pain had been so piercing that she had seriously considered ending her life to put herself out of her misery. However, pain was not a quitter. Inside Jules heart, pain had found a powerful ally: anger. They were determined not to part from Jules until she had carried out "the plan" and reminded her everyday of what had been taken away from her in one night. The hellish duo had planted a dark seed in her heart and they watched it grow daily: an intense desire to avenge the murder of Erik, the love of her life.

It was a rainy morning and Jules was consumed by both her memories and her revenge plans. She was beginning to feel overwhelmed because time was beginning to run out. Although Jules felt she didn't have a say in choosing to become the person she was now, she was well aware that the journey to retribution was going to be a lonely one. She couldn't trust anyone. Those she could have trusted would not understand her situation.

At that precise moment of despair, her cell phone rang. As a general rule, Jules only gave her number to crucial contacts so she knew whoever was calling her, had key news to deliver.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Jules?"

"Who's this?"

"Bodie here. Don't tell me you already forgot about me girl?"

"How could I forget about you? Now, tell me some good news Bodie."

"I am the bearer of good news. Jules, we've got most of the items on your list. We're still working on the big boy. He's a little harder to get."

"Great. Do we have a delivery date?"

"Your small stuff could be taken care as soon as today."

"How much?"

"What we got on inventory is 6K. Cash, of course."

"Isn't that a little high? I mean this small stuff is rather standard."

"Well, you sounded like you were in a hurry so we had to circumvent some obstacles, some costly ones."

"Will Bones figure out that we have a deal? I don't want this to go sour if he finds out that you're working something out with me."

"He won't. We are in loop hole mode, remember?"

"Great. Do you have an estimated delivery date for the big ticket item? I still need it."

"No, but we're all over it. Patience, Jules."

"Bodie, I notice you keep on talking in terms of 'we.' Who do you mean by 'we'?"

"By 'we', I mean Billy and me. Do you remember the other dude at the shop that day we met? That's Billy."

"Oh yeah," Jules said pretending to remember. "I'm a little confused Bodie, why is this Billy guy involved in our deal? I thought it was just something between us."

She was feigning confusion to see if she could avoid dealing directly with Billy at least for the time being.

"Jules, I work for Billy and he is the money man. You will have to seal the deal with him."

Hearing that got Jules upset at so many levels but she didn't want to give any indication of her reaction. It was clear to her now that the rules of the game had changed. Jules had intended to squeeze right pass Billy Darley during this transaction but she should have seen this coming. But of course Billy would want to seal the deal instead of having Bodie do it and Jules was suspect of what that process was going to require of her. She made a mental note to be even more careful and deceptive when she met with these two fools.

"Oh okay," she responded. "Let's meet at somewhere semi-public. I want to make sure you and your bud keep this clean."

"Hey! We are businessmen in here. You could even join us for drinks after we wrap everything up."

"No thanks, that seems a little too friendly for me. Do you have a place lined up?"

"Yeah, meet us at a bar called 'The Four Roses', 250 N. Lincoln Road at 10PM. Go to the back parking lot. You will see our black Mustang and a red Plymouth Duster parked in there."

"Ok, 250 N. Lincoln Road…Four Roses," Jules pretended to write down the address. She knew exactly where the bar was and how it was their unofficial headquarters. In her mind, 'The Four Roses' was basically 'Darley Central.'

"And Jules, no funny games from your side either. There's always a bunch of us in that joint."

"Awww Bodie, don't you trust me?"

'Well, you never know sweetie. Billy and I will be waiting for you."

As she hung up, Jules thought about how receiving this phone call had completely changed her outlook on life.

Jules looked outside her window. It was still pouring outside but her heart was now filling in with a sunny and warm feeling. Just a few minutes ago, she had almost given up on her plans and her own life. However, life kept on showing her that things in life could always change in a matter of seconds.

Jules was feeling very pleased that the final pieces of her plan were falling into place. She could not believe she was actually going to get her fire arms from the Darleys. If they only knew what she was going to do with those guns. "The irony of it all," she thought. "Oh well," she said to herself with a smile. Payback day was getting closer with every passing day.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – The Hustler

**Chapter 4 – The Hustler**

_"She played her perfection__  
__The lie was waiting to be__  
__The words left unspoken__  
__Now you will see…"_

_"Delilah's Lie"- Asrai_

It was around 9:47 PM when Jules had almost reached 'The Four Roses'. She was purposely early for the meeting that she had set up with Bodie to survey the "delivery scene." She was working alone so she needed to take a good look to see if anything strange was cooking in that back parking lot.

Just as Bodie told her to expect, there were the '69 black Mustangs and the red '73 Plymouth Duster parked in the rear. Two silhouettes that looked like Billy and Bodie were already outside and standing right next to the vehicles. Jules surveyed the rest of the parking lot and bar area and it seemed to her that the meeting appeared to be a straight forward transaction.

Jules turned around the car and drove back several blocks to get back on Lincoln Road. Bodie and Billy would expect her to enter the parking lot from the main entrance and she planned of following the expected script. When Jules drove past the bar building, she parked her truck right next to the red car.

On that evening, Jules was dressed up in jeans, a t-shirt and a tan leather jacket. She wore the jacket to conceal the gun she was carrying on the back of her pants. She carried a small backpack with the payment money. As usual, she also had with her a small concealed knife in her front jean pocket. If anyone looked at it, it actually looked like some sort of strange-looking traveling comb. However, if someone pressed the hidden lever, a sharp blade came out. She really wasn't expecting trouble that night but she wanted to be prepared as the Darleys did not have the best reputation in town regarding "business deals."

"Hey," she said acting as confident and cool as she possibly could.

"Ma girl Jules" was Bodie's greeting.

Jules smiled at him. Billy was standing next to him and Jules was able to finally take a good look at him. The son of a bitch looked nothing like Bones. He said nothing to her and seemed disinterested in her arrival. He was just standing there smoking away. That suited her just fine.

"All is here except for what we talked about," Bodie stated while directing her to the red Plymouth. He opened up the car door and showed her a gym bag.

"Do you mind if I check out the goods before I pay for them?"

As soon as she finished her sentence, Jules heard Billy snickering. She didn't feel anything funny was going on so she ignored him completely. She didn't want to talk to him anyway.

Bodie reacted differently. "Go ahead, it's your stuff," he urged her.

Jules unzipped the bag and saw her merchandise. One by one, she took out all four guns and individually examined them to make sure they were in proper working order. Next, she double-checked that the ammo she requested was all in there. As she was doing this, she noticed Bodie and Billy were looking at her with great interest and could tell they were clearly enjoining the sight of a woman who knew how to handle guns. She suppressed the desire to roll her eyes at them and chose to ignore them instead. What mattered to her the most is that all seemed to be in there except for the semi-automatic riffle but she knew that would be a separate deal.

She zipped up the bag and put it on the floor next to her feet. She playfully threw the money bag at Bodie.

"Count it," Billy finally spoke as he took another drag of his cigarette.

They waited silently for a few minutes until Bodie finished checking the money.

"We're good," Bodie announced. "Jules, like I offered before, you are welcome to join us for drinks."

"Thanks but I'm going to head back."

She heard Billy snickering again.

At this point, Jules had it with Billy and his attitude. If there was someone she was not willing to take any shit from, it was him. She thought that the bastard was begging to be put in his place. There was not much she could do at that exact moment but thought that purposely making a move on Bodie and not him, should bruise his ego. She didn't think Bodie would go along with it but if it came to that, it wouldn't hurt her to see what 'right-hand-man' had to offer. Perhaps she could even get Bodie under her thumb and make some things easier for her in the near future.

"Bodie, I should explain myself. It's just that….. the bar scene is not my kind of a thing. Perhaps you and I could go for a joy ride instead?" Jules made her suggestion wide open.

Bodie immediately saw Billy turn to look at him with a deadly stare. Bodie knew exactly what that look meant. He had to back down on that offer and scram from there fast. Although it pissed him off to not being able to tap on that hot ass, Bodie knew that nobody, not even him, was going to get in the way of Billy's plans.

Jules noticed the silent exchanges right away. She smiled to herself after seeing that 'alpha dog' exerted his rank over Bodie.

"Well Jules, I actually have to take care of something inside the bar but I'll see you around," Bodie responded and literally left in a rush.

"Call me!" she said as she blew him a kiss as she saw him leave.

Jules was not surprised to see Bodie back down but was impressed to see how short of a leash Billy kept his men on.

It was just her and Billy now so Jules no other choice than to focus her attention to him. Jules thought Billy looked annoyed but she also knew he wanted something from her. There was a reason for Bodie to scram from there and she was dreading what that was going to be.

"Do you still want the other item?" he asked.

"Yes, where are we with that?" she inquired.

"Well, I'm fucking working on it. How bad you need it?"

"Soon."

"Be more fucking specific."

Billy was being short with her and Jules was too pleased to see she had gotten to him. Maybe it would be her turn to do some snickering soon.

"I'd like to have it in the next week or so."

"In a fucking hurry, huh?" he said. "4K total then. Cash."

"Fine."

"So, who's got you this pissed off?"

"Someone who will be sorry real soon," she said.

Billy let a smile curl up. "I think you should join us inside for few drinks."

"Why would I want to do that with you, you fucking killer?" Jules thought angrily but she did not let up to him what she was thinking.

Billy, on the other hand, was staring at her with an intense, intimidating look. Jules recognized that his stare went along perfectly with a suggestion that really masked an order to get her ass inside the bar. She decided to push her luck and run the other way.

"I'm going to take pass, thanks. Let me know about the big boy. Bodie knows exactly how to find me," she responded in a playful tone just to rub it in to him one more time. Then, Jules placed the gym bag on her shoulder and began walking to her car. She wanted to get away as soon as possible; she could still be lucky enough to escape him. She didn't look directly at Billy but just in case, she kept an eye on him from the corner of her eye.

As Jules walked away, she heard him speak to her again.

"You know Jules; I'm not 100 sure anymore if I can get this fucking thing for you."

"Damn it!" Jules thought. Those words were the official confirmation that Billy was pissed off at her.

Jules tried acting unfazed at his comment and proceeded to act as normal as possible. She unlocked her car and put the bag in the car. After she closed the door, Jules turned to face him.

"What do you mean?" she inquired calmly.

"It's a bigger item; it makes things more fucking complicated. Bones is a fucking control freak with the inventory. It makes it much more fucking harder to get it."

Jules knew he was bullshitting her big time.

"It didn't seem we had an issue with big boy a few minutes ago. Is there an unexpected problem that arose in the last, oh say, 4 seconds?"

"Maybe…." He took a deep drag out of his cigarette and gave her a grin. His eyes were almost shining as he exhaled.

She let a sigh out. She had been expecting it.

"Are we negotiating then?" she inquired.

Billy nodded affirmatively.

"What is the price in which you will guarantee me that I will have the item within the time that I need it? "

Billy took another deep drag of his cigarette and let it out slow. His eyes were fixed on her and they still had that devilish look to them.

Jules knew exactly what he wanted from her. He knew that she needed the item so he was trying to exercise his leverage on her.

"I told you the fucking price already. However, for me to go the trouble to get this fucking thing for you, is going to require an additional incentive. So Jules, you and I will be spending some quality time together. Only after that I will fucking guarantee you that I will get this for you," he said.

"Wow, it sure sounds like a hassle for you," she said sarcastically. "Don't worry about it Darley. I can get this thing elsewhere, thanks anyway," she said defiantly.

"Yes you can get it elsewhere but what you don't fucking want is for Bones to know that you are still in the neighborhood seeking guns. You don't want him to do a call out on you either. If that happens, you won't have anywhere to go in this fucking town or the next state over."

"And what? If he finds me, you don't think I will tell him that you cooked up a side deal behind his back?"

"He won't have to find you; I will turn you in myself. I can make this whole fucking thing look like a set up. That would not be a good thing for you Jules, I fucking guarantee you that. At that point you will need my help to save your ass. So take your fucking pick, do you want to deal with me now or later?"

Jules was stunned. Billy had out smarted her completely. He literally had her against the wall but she was not going to crack under pressure. An all out on her would be disastrous. She had gone this far and she was still flying under the radar regarding her vengeance so Jules had to try to keep it together as best as she could.

"You still didn't tell me when you will have the item. Be specific now," she demanded.

"I could have it by Friday. How soon can _you_ be ready?" he said in calculating tone.

Jules was repulsed by the idea.

"I need to think about this," she said.

"Fine, you have 2 fucking minutes then."

Jules thought it was time to kill him and be done with him. As she took a few precious seconds to figure out her get away logistics in her mind, three of Billy's men happened to walk out of the bar. What a lucky dog this fucker was! She should have done it, shipped him out 10 seconds ago. She would be on the road by now. She turned to look back at him and he still had that stupid grin on his face. Jules was furious.

"1 fucking minute left…"

"All right!" she said exasperated. "But you will have the item with you that day and you will show it to me before anything happens! Otherwise, there's no deal. I also have requirements for you buddy: condoms for starters, no cameras, no drugs and no beatings. You pay for the room and I don't want a shit hole."

Billy gave her a wicked smile. He took a drag and exhaled heavily.

"All right but your fucking rules pushed the stakes a little higher. It's not going to be a quickie then. I'm gonna need tons of attention from you Jules. I'm a very lonely man you see," he said in a sarcastic tone.

"I highly doubt that Darley. Call me when you have it."

"Oh, I'll fucking have it. I'll see your ass here on Friday. 5PM on time."

"Wait a minute, you're an ass! You just made it sound as it would be a logistical nightmare to get this fucking thing and now you're telling me Friday for sure?"

"It is complex shit Jules. Let's just say that the incentive you just fucking threw at me is going to work powerful magic. I'll see you ass here in two days."

He turned around and walked away towards his men. They all headed back to the bar together. Billy didn't look back at her.

Jules thought it was better that he didn't, otherwise he would have seen the look of disgust in her. Jules thought about going into the bar and un-doing the deal.

She was still standing in the middle of the parking lot thinking about what to do. Being with Darley, even if it was just for one time, was wrong and risky. If she went inside, she would call attention to herself; she wanted to minimize being seen with or around Billy and his men. Then, she thought about being placed in Bones' unwanted list would be the death of her plan. If she let that happened that would completely leave her exposed and vulnerable. She would never be able to carry out her vengeance. Then again, there was always the option to pretend to go along with Billy's plan and just killing him quietly in the motel she thought as she laughed at the idea.

At moments like this, when she felt helpless, she missed Erik the most. He always knew what to say to her to make her feel better especially when she was in a bind. But Jules didn't have anyone now and she knew her emotional and psychological state was fragile. Jules didn't think she could hold up for much longer anyway. She was going to have to bite this bullet, stay with the plan and just keep an eye on the prize: that fucking bastard's head and the one of his fucking father.

Jules told herself that there was no backing down now; the deal was already agreed upon. She would have to go through it with that son of a bitch. At this point, she reminded herself it was all about the means to the end.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Truth vs

_**Chapter 5 - **_**Truth vs. Lies?**

_Struggling between the facts and fiction I'm alone…"__  
__Disarray - Lifehouse_

After meeting with Bones and turning in the 'night' money, Billy Darley usually made the 'The Office' his next stop as part of his daily routine. 'The Office' was an abandoned mental hospital that his crew used to cook and package their "merchandise." The peculiar name for their manufacturing center naturally evolved from the crew's knack for sarcasm.

That morning, Bodie was in charge of supervising the 'cooking' and packaging operation. Billy took his supervisory role seriously because a bad batch could bring him a lot of unnecessary problems which ranged from money troubles to having to endure the wrath and bullying from his father, Bones. Billy disliked having to deal with both sets of issues so he kept a close eye on that part of the operation. But he had another powerful motivating factor to stay on top of things; drug dealing was really the "bread and butter" for him and his men. That was the main source of generating extra cash from Bones without any evidence being left behind. Billy had carefully crafted his own price mark up scheme and altered Bones' original "recipe" to generate even more product while using less raw materials. Hence, Billy's _very_ personal attachment to this process.

Billy parked his car in his usual spot, right in front of the main entrance steps, and made his way up the lab.

Bodie heard the noise of someone walking upstairs. He quickly recognized the sound of firm and strutting footsteps going through the second floor hallway. The noise was quickly followed by the sight of a familiar brown leather coat moving its way through the long empty corridor.

"Yo Billy!" Bodie yelled.

Billy was now standing in front of "the kitchen" area, inspecting the product that was being packaged to make sure his men didn't dilute his "recipe" further with the hopes of personal gain. He turned around to face Bodie who seemed to have his emotions written all over his face. It was obvious to him that Bodie was filled with a sense of anticipation and excitement and this usually meant that he had something important to discuss with him.

"Remember that job you gave us?" Bodie asked excitedly. "I got something for you dog, quite a bit actually."

Billy knew exactly what Bodie was referring to. He had been patiently waiting to get this information for nearly two days. Billy had ordered a tail be placed on Jules that very same night they wrapped up their first transaction. He had been adamant in requesting to hear an update by early Friday afternoon before he had his "incentive" meeting with her. That meeting was hours away and Billy was really curious to hear what Jules was all about. Most importantly, he wanted to know what she was up to.

"Billy, you have to hear this man," Bodie said building up Billy's anticipation.

Without saying a word, Billy began moving through the empty hallway and stopped a couple of rooms away from "the kitchen." Bodie quietly followed him; he had immediately understood Billy's intentions. He wanted to discuss the information privately and away from the men just like the case with most of his personal business.

"You won't believe this stuff we found on your favorite new friend."

Billy remained silent but he nodded for Bodie to speak up. His stare was devoid of emotion but was completely focused on Bodie.

"Here it goes man. Based on Spink and Jamie's findings, it looks like Jules has been in this area of town for about a week. The day we saw her at Bones' Shop, that was her second day here in Rockside. She's staying at the Marquee Motel which is a fucking surprising; that's one rough place for a woman."

"I happen to know someone who works there," Bodie paused to highlight his contribution to the findings. Since Billy didn't react to this comment, he continued speaking in a slightly less enthusiastic but still firm manner, almost as if he was reporting a news event:

"Her hotel registration lists her as a Julia McBennet. She is paying in cash and in advance for her stay. I had to push my contact a little harder which, by the way, it cost you a couple of bags Billy but it yielded to some hard core shit. My man was able to sneak in Jules' room and found in the garbage a ripped bank receipt. Spink put it back together and we were able to get the info we needed. She has an account at First National and I got the number with me. Heco happens to have a customer that works in the bank and he owes us a big fucking favor. We had the punk look it up. Well Billy, it turns out that your soon-to-be fuck buddy has the account listed with another fucking name. Yeah, dog! The name there is Julia McFindlay. She has quite an amount stashed in that account. I don't get why she's living in a trashy motel when she obviously has the means!" Bodie paused.

Since Billy continued to remain quiet, Bodie continued reporting their findings.

"It gets better Bill. The account address is a P.O. Box in downtown which she pays for in….take a wild fucking guess? Cash! I have searched everywhere and there are no existing address records or working phone records for either name. It's just like she just popped out of no where and that isn't right."

"It's that it?" Billy asked.

"Well, we've also seen her for the last two days to go to the driving range on Belmont. From what Jamie gathered, she's a hell of a shooter. Then, every morning she goes to Palmer's Gym for several hours. She runs I don't know how many miles per day and does boxing there. She works with a trainer, Charlie. Spink managed to squeeze some info out of him and he said she's physically tough. I guess you are going to find out tonight in what kinda shape she is."

Bodie's jabs were starting to get on Billy's nerves. He was in no mood for them.

"Anyone with her?"

"None in the last 48 hours. Ever since she's been in the 'hood, she has not brought in anyone with her, men or women, to the motel. From what we got, she's like a loner. She does everything by herself even eating. No one has called her at the hotel in the entire week. There are no cell phone records listed for her either so she must be using one of those pay as you go ones. It's just odd, very odd. Personally, if I was you, I'm not sure that tonight is such a good idea. I would seriously watch it with her if I was you."

"If I didn't know you so well Bodie, I would say _you_ have some fucking personal issues with my meeting with Jules."

"I see red flags everywhere dude; I'm telling you as I see it."

"Are the fucking red flags just for me or do they apply for you too?" Billy point blank asked and gave Bodie a serious look.

Billy was thinking that of everyone in his crew, Bodie was the only person that he would trust his life. He wouldn't even trust his brother in that capacity but that was more of an issue of abilities than loyalty. However, he was uncomfortable at the interactions he had witnessed between Bodie and Jules. Jules seemed to really like to push the envelope so Billy felt that he had to nip that shit in the bud and it had to happen today.

"Woaa, dog, slow it down! I ain't concerned for me; I'm concerned for you and your bonus payment session tonight. I know she said earlier that her troubles were not here in Rockside but something is fucking telling me we need to keep an eye on her dog. She sounds like a fucking hire hand or a rat and we don't know who is she working for," he responded tensing up.

"Bodie, I'm not going to repeat myself on this but I hope you have a fucking solid understanding that you are to keep your personal distance from her."

Bodie was pissed off now. It was bad enough that he had to fold for Billy so he could get it on with this chick and now he dared to question his loyalty? That was too much for him to take.

"Why do you do this shit Billy?" Bodie asked.

Billy lifted his eyebrows and tilted his head as he gave Bodie an annoyed stare.

"Are we fucking clear or not?" Billy needed to hear Bodie say it.

"Yes, we fucking are! But now you tell me exactly when have I done you in brother?"

"I just want us both to be motherfucking clear on what's happening here and what _your role_ is in this entire process. Just in case you or her begin thinking again of side deals or joy rides," he said almost clenching his teeth.

"We're as good as fucking brothers and you go this way on me?" Bodie said raising his voice to Billy. "Bill, do not ever question my allegiance again. Don't fucking insult me like that!"

Bodie knew he was the only one in the entire crew that could get away with talking to Billy like that because he shared that brotherhood bond with Billy since they were kids. Bodie was in disbelief about being treated this way and he felt Billy really deserved being called out by him. It was fucking too much he said to himself.

Billy gave him a severe look and looked as if he was studying Bodies' reaction. Billy thought in a condescending manner about the main difference between the two of them. Bodie could be as vicious and brutal as he was but Bodie had the pathetic and pitiful weakness of showing his emotions. Well, he wasn't planning on making the same mistake ever.

"Are the night shifts taken care of?" Billy asked.

When Billy went on dodging questions like that, Bodie knew it meant that Billy didn't want him to know exactly what he was really thinking about. Bodie knew Billy would never apologize but backing out of the topic meant he was letting it go, at least for the moment.

"Yes, they are taken care off," Bodie responded.

"Bodie, I have it under control with Jules. I'll call you later this afternoon to discuss final plans for this evening."

"Sure thing bro," Bodie responded in a rather unenthusiastic manner.

After Billy left the building, Bodie took a moment to compose himself. Bodie was having a difficult time assessing where his loyalties lied or where they should be. He had always been extremely loyal to Billy but what was he really getting out of that? Financially, he made it out all right but it wasn't significant wealth either. He basically got the scraps that Billy threw at him or a share of side deals. Bodie had never been one to have a lot of options in his life but every so often an opportunity would come up. So far, he had turned them down each time and remained loyal to Billy. Depending on who offered him what and how much the opportunity was for, Bodie thought that next time he may have to take a second look at switching allegiances.

Somehow he was still feeling uneasy about this entire situation. Why was he feeling that way? It's not like he liked Jules. She wasn't even his type so that was not it. Then, eventually it hit him. What was really eating him up was not that he felt his manhood had been threatened; it had been Billy's disrespect and arrogance towards him. Yeah, that was one of Billy's main personality flaws, his arrogance and the notion that he was untouchable. So far, Billy had been a lucky dog and he had gotten out alive in many fucked up situations. However, it would just take one day for someone unsuspecting, someone like a woman, to find him with his guard down and ship him out. Bodie considered it would not be difficult at all for a woman to easily finish off him quietly in a motel room under the disguise of a sexcapade.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Demanding Darley

**Chapter 6 – Demanding Darley**

_"running against the wind__  
__playing the cards you get__  
__something is bound to give_

_there's hope for the hopeless"_

_"Hope For The Hopeless" – A Fine Frenzy_

Per her agreement with Billy, Jules pulled up at 'The Four Roses' at 4:59PM on Friday afternoon. That day, she felt she needed to take a higher those of her medications to put her mind at ease. Being slightly drugged was the only way she figured she could go through with her "appointment" because she did not want to have sex with Billy. The thought of it was too much for her. The meds actually had her in a fairly calm stage considering the circumstances. She thought with bitterness that now that Erik was gone, she now understood well how someone could feel the need to take the pressure and edge off with the aid of narcotics.

After a few minutes of waiting, she heard the cars coming in from the distance. Jules thought that whatever they had done to sup up those cars was noisy as hell as well as dumb ass stupid. Being in the line of work that they were in, she couldn't understand why they would want such recognizable and noisy vehicles. She figured that the flashiness of the cars had everything to do with Billy's cockiness and his sense of being "untouchable." His attitude clearly trickled down to his men.

Soon enough, she saw two Mustangs park near the bar entrance. Billy was on the wheel of his usual black car and Heco was the driver of the red Plymouth Duster. Both cars were filled with their "associates."

Jules stayed put in her truck. She planned for Billy to have to come get her there. The less she was seen by any his men or the people in the bar, the better off for her. There was one particular person she wanted to stay away from and that was Tommy. Andrea was afraid he could recognize her in spite of her hair color change.

Jules saw Billy's men get out of the cars and walk towards the bar entrance. Billy had spotted her in her truck and made eye contact with her. For the next few minutes, he didn't bother in communicating with her beyond that. She could see he was clearly busy taking care of business by delegating orders to his men.

In the last two days, Jules had taken the time to casually learn more about Billy's crew. She had to do it carefully because she had figured out that she was being followed. Billy's men had been discreet but she still noticed them. Jules knew perfectly well how to loose them if she needed to but chose not to do it to avoid rising suspicions. Her "tail" only got to see what she wanted them to know about her.

Jules could now identify and name all of Billy's men individually. Although each crew member had its own distinctive look, their signature tattoos were really the visual element that unified them together. Unlike other local gangs, Jules knew Billy's crew was not affiliated by race. The core of the gang was really composed of guys that Billy grew up with like Bodie, Spink, Baggy and Heco. With the exception of one or two guys that were "recruited" straight from the penitentiary, the rest of the men had grown up in or around the area and were extremely loyal to Billy. That made it an extremely close knit group that was difficult to infiltrate, break into or even bribe. "Not an impossible job," Jules thought but certainly a difficult one to undertake.

As she scanned through the group, she noticed that Bodie, Baggy and Jamie were not there. She knew very well that their absence had everything to do with her meeting with Billy that night.

Finally, the crew went inside the bar but Alpha Dog stayed in the parking lot. She saw Billy throwing away his cigarette and began strutting to her car.

Billy reached her truck and opened her car door. He was shamelessly checking her out from head to toe. Jules looked presentable but had not put a significant effort in her appearance. She was wearing a fitted top over a layered skirt and was wearing wedge sandals. His big grin said it all; Jules got his seal of approval.

Billy looked like he was ready to pounce at her at any given moment, almost as if he was waiting for the right time. Jules, on the other hand, just looked back at him sizing up every one of his moves. She admitted to herself that she was in a position where she could only fend off the attack for so long. However, in order to survive this, Jules knew she had to regain a certain degree of control. She knew it was a near damn impossible job with Darley thinking he was in charge.

Before Jules had a chance to cover her leg up, Billy noticed that her left thigh was slightly exposed. He proceeded to slowly caress her exposed skin with his long fingers.

"Are you about to fucking cry Jules?" he said in a mocking tone.

"Almost. You are far from my type you know," she stated calmly.

"What would that be? Wuss or easily manipulated?" he playfully responded. "Besides, I don't think that is the point of tonight babe."

Billy's hand kept on travelling up her thigh and insider her skirt. Jules slapped his hand.

"What do you think you're doing? You know that nothing is happening in this parking lot!" she said attempting to move his hand away from her.

"Calm the fuck down. You're not the only one who likes to check out the goods before completing a transaction," he said keeping his hand on her thigh and speaking more firmly.

Jules rolled her eyes at him.

Billy took notice of her reaction and all of the sudden, his demeanor got dark.

"Why don't I spell it out for you right now? Just in case you plan on making the fucking mistake of trying to act bitchy all night long," he said sternly. "Jules, I hope you are ready to roll with it because I brought more than one big boy."

Jules could not believe his comment. She wanted to laugh so hard at his face but stopped herself from doing so. Cracking up at his expense and to his face would be extremely imprudent on her part. In her mind, this man was _way_ too full of himself.

"I got you all right Darley. However, your modesty just blew me away," she responded sarcastically.

But Billy wasn't listening to her anymore nor cared about the fact she had said something. He was busy with his hands. He had grabbed her by the hips, had already turned her facing him and moved her legs to wrap around his own hips. He now slowly caressed her thighs and continued move his fingers inwards inside her skirt. Jules found his caressing extremely distracting and it made her nervous. She was not used to been touched by a man anymore and Billy was being really pushy. She had to admit to herself that she was amazed at how fast Billy worked and that there was never any hesitation on his part. In her mind that made him even more dangerous. Now, she knew it was her turn to strike at him; she felt the need to slow things down a bit.

"Darley?" she said getting his attention. "All you have done is to push my expectations sky high and I don't like it when men disappoint me."

"You won't be," Billy answered her completely unfazed. "Let's go, it's time."

As she was about to say something to him, he pulled her down from the driver seat in one quick move. As he slid her down, he made sure to press her body into his as he looked at her intensely in the eyes. Jules knew he was doing it to get to her and he was. It really was like a chicken game, neither one wanted to drop their gaze off the other. Jules felt fairly uncomfortable at the entire situation because he was completely dictating the pace of how things were moving along. She did not like it at all and was furiously thinking on how to put her own stake on the ground.

Jules was quick to think of something.

"Darley, I'll follow you in my car," she said while she tried to jump back into her driver seat. But her effort was in vane; Billy wasn't letting her jump back on the car. He purposely was pinning her down to the ground and looking at her straight in the eye with a daring look.

"You are getting in my fucking car," Billy ordered her firmly and began dragging her towards his car.

Jules was unwilling to give up that level of control. She broke loose from him and judging by his reaction, this took Billy by surprise. That's the moment he realized that Jules was much stronger physically than he expected her to be.

"Look, this isn't a date. I'll be happiest if I follow you in my car," she insisted.

Billy gave her a scrutinizing look as he wiped his nose with the back of his hand. He was annoyed at her and was breathing heavily. Jules loved the instant gratification of knowing that she had gotten to him. However, she knew she needed to enjoy that moment right then and there because she knew he would make her pay for this somehow.

"Have it your way babe. Good luck keeping up with me."

"Well, why don't you just tell me where are we going?" she asked him.

Once again, Billy acted as if he hadn't heard a thing from her. In fact, he didn't even bother in acknowledging her question and just got into his car. He literally sped off from the parking lot without giving her either a warning or waiting for her to get in her car.

Jules considered for a second not going after him but she could not afford to put herself in the out, at least not yet. Jules knew very well Billy would be good on his promise to turn her in if she didn't meet her end of the bargain. She just needed a few precious more days, even at the price of having to get intimate with him tonight.

"Suck it up Jules," she told herself. Without any more hesitation, she jumped in her car to try to catch up with him.

Billy had not been kidding. He drove like a maniac and he was making sure it as was hard for her to follow him. Jules knew this was her payback for refusing to ride with him. The guy drove in an insane and reckless manner. Jules really had a hard time keeping up with him. The medication she had taken was definitely impacting her reflexes and she was reacting slower than usual.

At that precise moment she got a text message. It was an alert for her.

"1 man in ur room right now – Waiting 4 ur instructions."

Jules eyes widened. For a moment, she panicked. Jules finally had to admit to herself that she was getting really nervous about this "encounter." Billy was moving his chips quickly and she knew she was lagging behind. "Did Billy completely bust her? There is not reason for him to know anything, he shouldn't have a clue" she told herself.

Jules struggled to type her response as she tried to stay with Billy. The son of a bitch was making it very difficult for her to keep up with him.

She finally saw him park at the Mirage Motel and she decided to take her time to get there. She needed that time to finish texting back and just in case, do a quick clean up job on her cell phone.

"Ensure man is busted by cops (). Get Visual. Do NOT reply. I'll find u."

She hit the send button and deleted all recent incoming and outgoing text messages as well as certain phone numbers.

When Jules finally pulled up, Billy still looked annoyed but flashed the motel keys to her. She got out the car and got her purse. Before walking to him, she checked something on both of her car doors and then began walking towards him.

Billy was now standing next to the motel room door. He had placed a large gym back on his shoulder and she assumed her "purchase" was inside of it.

"How are we doing this?" Jules asked as she stood near him.

"Are you trying to fucking tell me that you're a virgin?" he said teasing her.

Jules didn't want to but had to laugh at his comment.

"Maybe," she said toying with him.

Billy laughed hard at her. Alpha Dog was in a good mood now.

"I'm offended Billy, you don't know me. I could be one for all that you know," she said with a smirk.

"If you are one, I'm a fucking Eagle Scout," he said winking at her.

"Well Boy Scout, earn your merit badge now. Show me my purchase first," she demanded.

Billy unzipped the bag and showed her the contents. "Does this look like your baby?" he said.

Jules checked the contents of the bag. Yes, it was her big powerful baby. As she waited for him to zip up the back, Jules took a quick scan at the parking lot. That's when Jules spotted his men and they all had their positions set. Apparently, Alpha Dog had some concerns about her and felt he needed to be protected. At the end of the parking lot, she recognized the silhouette of a black man. It was Bodie indeed. Across the street, in a vehicle she had never seen before, she recognized a man on the wheel. He had a Mohawk and a beard. That was Baggy. Jamie was still unaccounted for.

Shit! Was this just for precaution or was this a trap for her? This was going to be far trickier than she expected it to be.

Billy's voice pulled Jules out her thoughts.

"You happy now dear?" he said sarcastically.

She nodded yes without much enthusiasm. Jules was finding out the hard way that Billy Darley was more complex and demanding than she ever expected him to be. It made her wonder how the next few hours were going to be for her; she knew he would only get more demanding inside that motel room. However, she had also come prepared. Knowing that Billy would be looking for "hardware," she brought along a more discreet weapon. Her small but very effective concealed knife was tucked in inside her purse among other girlie things.

"I'm good with my end of the deal Jules," Billy pointed out. "It's now your turn to make me happy."

As Billy finished uttering these words, he opened up the motel room door and swung it open to let her in.

XX XX XX

Hey Guys – Drop me a note and let me know how I am doing please? Your feedback is appreciated 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – A Life-Changing Decision

**Chapter 7 – A Life-Changing Decision**

_I will stay forever here with you  
My love  
The softly spoken words you gave me  
Even in death our love goes on_

"Even in Death" – Evanescence

It was around 2:30AM when Julia and Erik began driving home from a dinner party. That night had been the first chance she had to show off her engagement ring to their friends since Erik had proposed to her two weeks ago during a trip overseas. Their engagement had not been a surprised to anyone; Erik and she had been together for five years. Next year was going to be the big one for them; it was going to be the one when they finally became husband and wife. There was so much to plan up for and Julia was going to make sure it was going to be one perfect wedding.

Julia was telling Erik how she found it funny that so many people seemed to be experts on wedding planning. People, actually too many people, just voluntarily gave up "advice" on the do's and don'ts of planning of a wedding.

Suddenly, Julia noticed her fiancée had been rather quiet since they left their friends' house.

"Honey, are you okay?" she inquired.

"Yes, angel. I'm just a little stressed out. I have that big case starting up on Wednesday and I don't feel I have enough hours in a day to get through everything that I need to do to get ready for the deposition."

"Erik, I really appreciate you coming to the dinner tonight. I know it will be tough on your schedule especially with all that you have going on this weekend."

He grabbed and kissed her hand and looked at her with loving eyes. Then he said:

"Julia, I wouldn't have missed it for anything in the world. It's not everyday that I have a chance to brag about having the most beautiful, intelligent and sexy fiancée in the universe."

Julia giggled like a little girl. She loved how Erik always found a way to make her feel special and loved. He kept on holding on to her hand and she held it tight.

The one dark cloud glooming over her is that she was concerned about Erik's current state of being. She had been keeping a close eye on him all evening and she could see the tension in him. She recognized the circles under his eyes, the vein that swelled up close to his right eye, the increased fidgeting; they were all symptoms that he was under a high level of stress. She knew him too well for him to hide something like that from her. Julia was concerned that Erik tended to get a little dark whenever he was worried or stressed out like this.

She saw him missed their regular exit. Julia knew what that meant.

"Honey, please. Let's just go home."

"It will be a 10 minute stop. I promise you Julia."

"Erik, I just don't want you taking that stuff. Come on love, I will make you feel better."

"I know you will," he gave her a naughty smile

Erik could tell she was not pleased with the choice he was making but he really needed to unwind at some point that weekend. He was under an immense amount of pressure. The case he was dealing dealt with catching a big shark and it was a must-win case for the firm. He was not going to be taking any of the stuff tonight. No, he had other plans for him and Julia for what remained of the evening. However, he knew he would need it big time tomorrow night. He kept on telling himself that it was just a little aid to help him blow off some steam.

"It will just take a moment my angel," he said and caressed her cheek.

Julia didn't turn to look at him. She resented what he was about to do.

"Plus, you know that I always get it from the same guys. They are all right, you've seen them," he added trying to reassure her but it was nor working.

Julia stayed quiet and delved deeper into her thoughts. She knew Erik was not a habitual drug user. She also understood he needed to take off the edge with everything that he had going on. This behavior was not new to her. He already did this while in college. It typically happened when he got majorly stressed out.

But things were different now. Erik was a lawyer, not a college student. If he got caught, this could get him disbarred. She just worried that this little habit of his was going to take the best of him one day. Why couldn't he take up boxing, running or something simple like Yoga to help himself relax? Besides, she always got nervous going through the rough neighborhoods just to get the stuff. This was going to be the last time she was going to go along with this. This had to stop and after tonight she was going to see it through that it ended for good.

Erik drove through several alleys until he got them right under the interstate overpass. That was the spot of his regular dealers. As usual, one of his 'regulars' was standing next to a trash can fire.

"What's up Tommy?"

"Erik, haven't seen you in a while. Oh, I see your pretty lady is here too. Hi."

Julia didn't bother in responding or looking at the man.

"Damn gang banger!" Julia said to herself.

"I just need a small one, just to take off the edge you know. Are you here by yourself? Where's Heco?"

"You know him…I think he's sampling the goods tonight. Billy will not be pleased."

"Heco is deep in it then, I wouldn't want to deal with a pissed off Darley," he said laughing.

"You know it bro," Tommy agreed.

Erik paid and pulled away. He had the goods and now they could head back to their downtown condo. He knew Julia was upset. Erik knew he would find a way to cheer her up once they got home; he always did.

Erik veered left and away from the overpass onto a service road. He had not been on the road for even ten minutes when he heard a "honk."

He saw a black SUV passing right by them at a really high speed. The car seemed to drive into the night and disappeared from sight quickly.

"Idiots!" Julia mumbled. She was still in a bad mood.

Suddenly, Erik and Julia felt something hit their car from the rear of the vehicle. Their car, a Range Rover, was being slammed from behind by another car.

"What the fuck?" Erik wondered. He began to slow down the car to inspect the damage on their car. He also wanted to find out what the deal was with this other punk driver.

Julia begged him to go on: "Erik, I don't like it in here. Please don't stop. Keep going," she demanded.

All of the sudden, they both saw a flash of light coming towards them. Another car was heading directly towards them and was trying to cut them off to stop them.

"Erik, wasn't that the same black SUV from a moment ago? Did you do something to piss them off?" Julia was worried.

Erik turned the wheel to try to go to the road shoulder and avoid the collision but their car began skidding. Erik kept on trying to retain control of the car but it was not working. He then began pumping on the breaks. Julia could smell now the burned tire marks that their car was leaving on the pavement. They could both see that their car was literally veering towards a barrier wall. They had been going fairly fast so it was hard to stop the momentum that the vehicle had. As the breaks were not really responding and the car seemed to be going out of control, Erik began pulling up the manual brake handle. Their Range Rover ran through the street railing and it rammed head on into a light post.

The airbags went on immediately. Julia felt a burning sensation on her hands as she tried to push the airbag away from her. The impact had definitely been pretty hard. She could not see it but the front of the car was completely wrecked.

Right away, Erik turned to Julia: "Angel, are you okay?"

"I'm okay but my hands and arms are somewhat scalded, I think they got burned from the steam coming out of the air bags."

As she finished speaking, Erik had already dialed up 911. "I want to report an accident off Myer Road, under the LaSalle overpass."

Julia was a little dizzy from the impact but she could detect quite a bit of movement outside. There were three or four men heading towards them. They looked suspicious to her.

"Erik. Let's go. Let's get out of here!" she said almost in panic.

"One moment Julia…yes, my fiancée has air bag burns on her hands and wrists."

Julia forcefully grabbed Erik's hand and pointed for him to see the men outside

"What do these men want?" she wondered.

"Start the car Erik!" she screamed.

Erik knew there was no way the car is going to start. He could now see three or four men coming towards them with guns.

"Send the police over and soon. We are being held at gunpoint," he alerted to the dispatcher. He hung up his cell phone and threw it into the backseat, hoping the men would forget about him making a call or just to earn a few more minutes before the police got there.

_Everything that is about to happen within the next 10 minutes is so traumatizing to Julia that it seemed to have either happened too fast for her to comprehend what was going on or that it happened in such slow motion that it felt like it took place in an eternity in time._

"You two, get out of the car! Get the fuck out!" the men yelled at them. They were all wearing black ski masks.

Since Erik and Julia were slow to comply, one of the men broke the glass of the car door and unlocked the doors. Erik got yanked out of the car. As Julia screamed, a man forcefully pulled her out of the car.

"Who where you just talking to?"

"I was calling an ambulance for her; her hands got burned with the air bags,"

They punch Erik on the face.

"You dumb fuck! You better have something fucking good to give us. Move it guys. We need to move quickly in here"

Julia was feeling terrified at the commotion. She tried to stay strong; she knew Erik would want her to stay calm.

She now heard Erik offering them the money and the drugs to let them go; the men seemed responsive to it.

In a flash of a second, the men pulled out Julia's Omega watch, her diamond necklace off her neck and her engagement ring. Loosing her ring made her loose it; Julia could not hold back her tears anymore.

Erik looked at her with increasing sadness. She could read his lips telling her not to worry that he'll give her a new and a better ring.

One of the three men shouted to Erik "Shut the fuck up. Don't talk to her!"

The shortest of the men got closer to Julia. He began groping her and taunted Erik as he did so. "What a pretty little thing you got here," he said and pulled Julia closer to him.

Julia tried to pull away but the man had a strong hold on her. She trembled as she felt him touching her inappropriately.

"You already have our belongings and money, let her go," Erik stated trying to stay calm.

The man now lifted up her skirt and ripped off her underwear. Julia screamed and he slapped her hard as he tried to push her to the side. He slammed her into the black SUV. The man pushed himself agains Julia and she could feel the man unzipping his pants. She let out a screaming cry for Erik.

Erik pushed and punched his attacker. He began running towards Julia and her attacker.

"Take your dirty hands off her!"

Those were the last words Julia heard Erik say before she heard a sharp and loud noise.

She turned to look at Erik. He had fallen to the ground and red stain began growing on his shirt like a flower.

Julia let go a long and sharp scream.

Her attacker laughed and pulled her closer to him. "No one is coming to save you darling, you are all mine." he said while he pulled her skirt up and attempted to push himself in between her legs. Julia was fighting him off until some words caught her full attention:

"Finish him off. You heard the orders, he wants him dead," another man yelled.

Julia aggressively reacted to those words: "What? Someone wants Erik dead?" she wondered in shock. She tried harder to break free until she heard same loud noise for a second time. Julia saw Erik's body shudder. Then, she heard it a third time and he quivered one more time. At that point she gave up. She just hung from the arms that were restraining her and let out a painful scream yelling Erik's name. A blunt and hard slap on the face made her stop screaming.

The man had finally pushed himself in between her legs but Julia refused to give in to him. She knew now they were going to rape and kill her too. The slap had made her more determined but her attacker didn't like that. He punched her hard in the face. Julia started feeling in a daze from the pain and from the gunfire. The smell of gunfire was everywhere and it made her sick. Involuntarily, Julia threw up on he attacker. As he showed her disgust at her, Julia stepped her high heel hard his foot. As he wasn't letting go of her completely, she bit his hand and then punched him. As the man screamed in pain, she noticed in a flash of a second the exotic tattoo that he had on the neck but she didn't 'waste any more time. She needed to get to Erik and ran towards him.

Erik was down on the floor laying on his back and was spitting blood. A large rain stain colored the pavement and Julia found herself unable to bring herself to kneel next to him. She felt a mix of shock, fury and disbelief.

"It's your turn bitch!"

Julia turned to look at Erik's shooter and now was pointing a gun at her. She noticed he had the same weird tattoo designs.

She heard a fourth loud and sharp noise. Julia threw herself on the ground but she was not able to dodge the bullet. She felt a sharp burning sensation on her right shoulder. She hit the floor sideways and landed hard by Erik's feet. She knew that a bullet had hit her and her skin felt all scraped from the fall but she didn't care. She was still able to move and dragged herself next to Erik.

Emergency sirens could be heard in the background and they seemed to be getting stronger with each minute.

For a second, Julia's heart filled with hope until she noticed that the male voices behind her were arguing with each other. Just when she thought her life would come to an end, the men took off in their vehicles.

She was now able to finally hold Erik in her arms and tried to determine if she could stop the bleeding but quickly realized there was nothing to be done. Julia felt she was in the midst of a nightmare and she couldn't wake up from it. That was the most sickening thing to her, she was not asleep. This was actually happening to her. A nightmare would have been a blessing because nightmares ended. She was awake and her real life nightmare was just beginning.

Erik tried to talk to her. She heard him say "Angel", the pet name he had given her in college. There was more blood coming out of his mouth. His eyes were pleading to her, like he was saying he was sorry. She wiped off her tears with her red stained hands.

"It's okay baby. I won't let go Erik, I love you too much."

The sirens were getting closer to them. Julia starts screaming loudly asking for help.

The bullet had a chance to cool off in her body and now she was feeling the pain. The sharp pain on her shoulder was not letting her hold him any longer but she didn't want to stop holding him. She laid him down as best as she could over her legs but that just seemed to spread more of the blood from his three gun shot wounds. All of the sudden, Julia began feeling sick and dizzy. All she could smell was blood and blood smelled like death to her.

Everything went dark for her at that moment.

_So what do you think of what Jules went through? Drop me a note if you get a chance!_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – The Right Moment

**Chapter 8 – The Right Moment**

_"You need to stop for a minute __  
__Before you get too, deep up in it __  
__(Too deep) __  
__'Cause everything ain't what it seems"_

_'A Woman Like Me' - Beyonce Knowles _

The first thing that Jules noticed when she walked into the motel room was the fact that it smelled clean. Billy had actually complied with one her requirements; the place was not a shit hole after all. As she took her sandals off and put her purse on the dresser, she began to inspect the room more thoroughly. She did this more out trying to relax herself than out of actual curiosity. She had made a decision of what she was going to do that night.

In the mean time, Billy had locked the door and placed the gym bag on the floor. He actually walked to her purse and checked out its contents.

"Aw, you don't trust me Billy?" Jules said playfully.

"Should I?" he said closing her purse.

"Maybe. What were you looking for? Metal?" she asked.

"Yeah, just in case babe. I know you are clean of hardware under that skirt."

"Oh so that's what was all about! Here I thought you were try to seduce me," Jules said teasingly.

Billy had a fixed look on her and observed her every move. He was studying her and Jules knew it. He took his leather jacket and shirt off and began walking towards her.

As she saw him strut to her, she had to admit it that Billy actually good, really good. He had a lean and built body. She couldn't help notice the many scars he had all over and they completely added on to his bad ass appeal.

"Come and make me a very happy man," he ordered her.

Jules felt there was no walking to be done. His arms had already pulled her quickly towards him. Billy was staring directly at her, like he was waiting for Jules to react. Jules thought that it would be easiest for her if she just went with the flow; there was not point in resisting anymore. If she did, she would only make things harder on herself. For a second, Jules also thought that if Erik could really watch her from somewhere, he would certainly not approve of what she was doing with Billy.

Jules began to playfully move her fingers from Billy's arms to his chest. She was pretending in her mind that Billy was Erik. Due to this she could not bring herself to look him in the eyes as it would have ruined her fantasy. Billy sensed something off and seemed to be bothered by her reluctance to look at him in the eye. He lifted up her chin with his right hand and forced her to look at him. There was no doubt in her mind that Darley here was a very demanding man with the women that entered his life.

Before she realized it, he had pushed her into his mouth. The wetness and firmness of his lips felt initially awkward. She was not a smoker or a drinker and she disliked the taste of tobacco and whiskey coming from him. She figured Billy was trying to break the ice. That was actually smart of him; there was a lot of ice to be broken. At first he kissed her tenderly and then the kisses began getting deeper. He then moved down to her neck and began biting her there and around her collar bone. As he did this, he unzipped her skirt. Jules felt the fabric fall at her feet.

Billy had now stopped kissing her and began removing her shirt. He seemed to really like being in charge so Jules stood there letting him do what he wanted. She was just not really there; all she needed to do is give the impression she was.

While she was deep in her thoughts, Billy had slowly pulled down one of her bra straps and then moved the other strap down too. His hands had now slid to her back to unhook her bra. She felt the weight of her breasts shift down as he removed it completely. Billy was looking at her breasts. He was clearly enthusiastic about them and began stoking them as well as her nipples. He had large hands and her breasts seemed to fit perfectly in his hands. He moved down to her chest level and she saw him fill his mouth with one of her breasts. As he did this, his hands were all over her. Billy was now sucking and biting her nipples. There was no doubt in her mind, that he was enjoining himself. Jules, on the other hand, had a hard time staying in the moment. There was a lot going on in her mind.

Jules' mind was actually focused on thinking about the toll and price that carrying out this vengeance had taken on her. Life's little pleasures did not exist for her any more. For example, she wasn't able to savor food well. She also slept very little. She had to make herself exhausted to get a decent night of sleep. She had nightmares on a regular basis. Fairly often, she could hear those two male voices screaming at her and pleading for their lives.

Billy appeared to be on the opposite end of the spectrum compared to her. It looked like he was savoring everything he was doing to her. Billy finally lifted her off to the bed. He laid her down on her back. Then, he stood up to take his pants and boxers off.

Seeing a view like that was exactly what Jules needed to get back into the moment. Jules knew at that precise moment that he had not been joking about bringing the other big gun. She really hadn't expected to get turned on by him and his nakedness gave her a massive heat wave.

Billy gave her a big grin. He completely knew the effect his naked body had on her. Well, he was actually used to that reaction from women in general. He pulled off her panties. Right away he spread her legs wide open. He didn't want to waste any time.

Then, Billy did something that completely surprised her. Instead of skipping foreplay (as she had expected him to do), he buried his face in between her legs. He quickly found her most intimate spot and began licking it very, very slow. He was licking, sucking and swirling his tongue with total confidence. This made Jules feel even more sensitive than she was already feeling. Just as when she wished he would go on forever, he slid his tongue inside of her. Her entire back was arched from the pleasure. Billy's tongue kept on swirling and penetrating her. He knew very well that he was pressing all sorts of buttons mercilessly. Jules took it all in and was trying really hard to keep her legs from shaking. It felt that good. It had been a very long time since she felt a part of her alive, any part of her alive.

While Jules was trying to control her reactions and emotions, Billy was very satisfied with what was going on. He was purposely keeping Jules away from climaxing. Billy had an agenda of his own.

Billy was very pleased that his plan worked and that he was about to have finally have her. He had not stopped thinking about getting to this moment since he saw Jules bent over on the window of his car. The thoughts Jules had put in his head. She and her fiery personality were going to pay dearly for that now. She was about to find out what he was made off, why women literally had smack downs over him and why they couldn't get enough of him. It was time for lesson #1.Today was going to be the last time she gave him that arrogant and distant stare. Whoever she thought he was, she was going to be in for shock. He knew he was half way there already.

At some point, he stopped what he was doing. It was time and Jules knew he wasn't going to wait any longer. He looked out for the condom packet that he had lay on the bed and ripped it open. He pulled it out and put in on. He was staring at her with such desire. Jules found herself completely turned on by this.

In a flash of a second and using his entire body, he positioned her. He had roughly pulled her up and wanted her back facing him. Basically, he wanted her bent over just like when he first saw her by his car. He quickly had her lean her hands on the wall with each arm to the side of her head. With his knee he pushed open her legs and placed himself in between her legs.

Jules was already psyching herself up for a fast and bumpy ride. She was truly in for another surprise because Billy had planned exactly the opposite. He sought out her mouth again and began kissing her deep from the side. One of his hands was holding her head towards him and the other arm was on her waist wrapping her up close to him. Then, he leaned her a little forward and she felt him down below. Billy entered her barely enough and began to tease her. He would enter her just enough, then he would pull out and do it again. He kept on doing this and was pacing himself well. Jules was no fool. She knew Billy was making her suffer on purpose so she would want him more. The strategy was working extremely well for him. She was already dying to feel all of him inside of her. What he was doing to her was driving her insane. All of this made her feel a little conflicted but Jules also knew he was not going to stop. Therefore, she thought she might as well enjoy it.

Suddenly, his hands moved firmly into her hips and Jules finally felt him in full. She let out a fairly loud a gasp when it happened. It just felt that good. He held tight to her hips and began thrusting her slow but deep. She could not believe how incredible the sensation felt. He was being very patient with his choices and this was truly driving her mad. His next move was to bend her forward a little more. His hand could now reach in between her legs and his fingers began playing sweet music in her most intimate parts. He began to thrust her harder and faster too. Jules could now feel it coming and her breathing began getting more intense. When she finally came, it was so intense that she felt she was drifting away. She thought she heard him say "Stay with me."

"Jules, stay with me," he said again and he put his hand across her chest to keep her standing up so he could finish.

As she stood pressed in between Billy and the headboard, Jules was making an effort to keep her eyes open but she felt like she was in this warm cloud that was quickly evaporating. Her head was tilting backwards on his shoulder and she heard him let out a deep grunt when he came. As he rocked her when he was coming, he moved his arms to hold on tight to her waist. She liked the feeling his body pressing to hers. When he pulled off from her, Jules just felt her body melting down as she tried to sit down and lay down on her back.

Billy was on his knees catching is breath. He let out a big grin, he loved that she had nearly blacked out on him. Sex black outs were always a sign of a good time.

As he looked at her he couldn't help but think that Jules didn't look so tough anymore.

He had her exactly where he wanted her and he was not done with her. She had this untamable attitude about her that he felt it was like his personal mission to break down. Today was just step one of that process. He wanted more but he needed to take a break to cool off. Billy pulled Jules up by her arms to fully lay her on her back. Then, he pulled the sheets over to cover her and put his head on her flat stomach to rest. Jules breathing was finally slowing down.

They were quiet for some minutes until Billy began caressing and kissing her again. He did not want her falling asleep that early in the evening. He had plans on what he wanted to do to her for the rest of the night.

Not surprisingly, Jules found out that night that Billy was almost insatiable. However, she was most surprised to find out that she didn't mind it. He definitely loved fucking and he was good at it. It had been 5 months since she, well…..since she had been with anyone. That last time she had sex it had also been "mission-specific" and it had been a bad fuck. That was how she got access to the whereabouts of Erik's killers. So she was going to give Billy a run for his money. Plus, it was better for her to get him tired and asleep as soon as possible.

Whether Jules had planned on it or not, she learned a few things about Billy Darley that night. Some things she had expected and others came as a complete shock to her. One peculiar thing she learned about Darley was that, after sex, he clearly didn't like it when a woman left his side. It could be a personal thing with her, since he clearly didn't trust her. He had very adamant about that. It wasn't a cuddling or an affectionate need for him. She concluded that it was more of a need for him to feel in control. Even when she had to go to the bathroom to take a piss, Billy had given her a hard time about leaving him in the bed alone. In general, Jules found Billy to be a very generous but extremely demanding lover.

As the night progressed, Jules began feeling exhausted. She almost felt she had just about run a marathon with this man. She was really tired but was afraid to fall asleep. What about if she had nightmares and he heard her talk in her sleep? Jules knew she had to try to stay awake because she was afraid of what Billy may hear her say during her nightmares.

At some point of the night, Billy fell asleep out of exhaustion. She was so glad he did. Jules looked at her purse and thought about what was inside of it. Billy had barely missed it as she had purposely junked up her purse with worthless and meaningless girly stuff to distract his attention. It had worked. Jules also knew that Billy he would be primarily looking for a small gun and she had left hers hidden inside her truck.

As she heard him finally snoring, it was time for her to get up and just do it. She carefully moved his arm away from her.

"Riiing…..Riiing…."

The noise startled her, she moved the covers over her head and she pretended to be asleep.

"Riiing…..Riiing…."

"Yes?" Billy responded sounding tired.

"Not this shit again! So what? Is he just fucking high and useless?" Billy sat up on the bed.

Jules pretended to wake up and turned to look at Billy.

"Where's Tommy?...You're fucking kidding me...What about Baggie? He what? Was it Wallis or just the regular cops? I'm gonna kick all of your fucking asses!" Billy screamed.

Alpha Dog was royally pissed off. Jules just kept on staring at him quietly but with interest.

"All I know is that one of you pricks is gonna pay badly for this interruption. I'm on my way."

Billy hung up on this cell. He started searching for his clothes right away.

"I have to go but I'll be back," he announced.

"Like when? I don't have fucking all night!" Jules complained.

"You still owe me Jules," he announced.

"I'm sorry if a marathon is not enough for you but we're not replaying the whole fucking Olympics in here," she said getting out of bed. As she walked towards her purse, she didn't care to cover herself.

"I'm not done with you," Billy said in a menacing tone but keeping her eyes on her body.

"You are the one cancelling on me Darley. That is your prerogative and your loss. We're so done," she said throwing a money envelope at him.

"You are done with me when I say so. Get that through you thick skull babe. This is a to-be-continued my little angel."

Hearing that word irked Jules to no end. How dare he call her that? Angel? She was not his fucking angel! She tried to control her temper to the best of her abilities.

"Do not call me that ever again, do you hear me?" she yelled at him. "And Darley, you really need to drop this and now," she insisted.

"No, you and I are just getting started. Drop the act Jules, I know you enjoyed it," he said in an extremely cocky manner.

"It was good but don't fool yourself. You are only one more fuck in my life and nothing more," Jules responded defiantly.

"Well, see about that. And Jules, next time, you will tell me what is up your ass. Now, I gotta go but I'll find you," Billy turned around and left the room.

XX XX XX

Jules tried leaving the motel room as soon as possible; she was concerned Billy may change his mind and come back. She peaked outside the window and she didn't see the white van or that other car around. They had all left. She didn't see anything else that would be suspicious so she walked out, concealed knife at hand.

Jules got to her car. She checked both car doors. She had left two of her long hair strands "glued" across each door to see if anyone tried to get in her car. They were untouched; no one had gotten in. She put the big boy in the back seat. She placed her hidden knife in her skirt pocket and got in her truck. She found her gun, put it next to her and started driving away. Her cell phone rang. Getting that phone call with such perfect timing could only mean that someone was watching her.

"Yes?" she answered.

"It's me," a male voice responded.

Jules giggled. "Are you gonna ask me if I had a good time with Billy?"

"I don't want to know," he said in a serious tone.

"Well, I think you know the answer to that. Besides, you were the one took forever to make that fucking mayday call. So, why you stop me? I thought you wanted him dead tonight."

"Everyone was expecting it plus we have to talk some more before you do anything."

"Awwww, were you concerned about me or Billy?" she said making a sad pouty face.

"I want this done right. Let's meet now, you know where," the man responded.

"Did you tie up Billy as we discussed?"

"Yeah, he's going to be gone for quite a while."

"Great. We have quite a bit to discuss then. Did you pin it on Heco?"

"Oh, yeah,"

"You're fucking ruthless! You know Billy is going to go ape shit on him."

"Not my fucking fault, the man is high about half of the time."

"Won't he suspect you? I mean, we'll be together for a while so that means you are going to be MIA from Alpha Dog."

"I'm good. I'm actually in charge of keeping tabs on you tonight if you can fucking believe it. Actually, considering that Baggy should be rather busy dealing with the police at the moment, I'm your only tail."

"I know, you have me to thank for taking care of that," she said laughing hard. "Sweetie, you are a fucking genius!"

Notes:

_**I hope you enjoy -ehem- the 'action.' wink wink As you can see, Jules convinced someone to break ranks with Billy. Any guesses?**_

_**Coming Up Soon: More details about Jules past.**_


	9. Chapter 10

Chapter 9 –The Past: A Life Shattered

**Chapter 9 – The Past: A Life Shattered**

_"This pain is just too real __  
__There's just to much that time cannot erase__  
__I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone__  
__and though you're still with me __  
__I've been alone all along…."_

_"My Immortal" - Evanescence_

Julia woke up in a hospital bed. It had been difficult for her to open up her eyes. She felt sore and stiff. The air had that sanitized or chloroform-like quality that she had hated all her life. It was now making her nauseous.

Her heart began racing faster and faster trying to remember all that had happened that night. She sat up and began screaming Erik's name. She tried to get up from the bed but the pain on her shoulder was too much. She had tubes and needles stuck to her arms. Her hands and wrists were bandaged. She began crying from all of the pain she was feeling physically and emotionally.

She saw two tall figures come in into her room. She looked at their faces and she just knew what they were there for but she still had to ask.

Her lower lip was trembling. "Where is he, where is Erik?"

She looked at her father with fear but her mother's eyes gave her the answer.

Julia let out a jarring scream. She didn't want to hear anything else anymore. Julia went on screaming for a while because that was the only way she knew how to express her pain. She just wanted to die.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry," he began saying. "They did everything they could. They had a hard time even with you in surgery. You lost a lot of blood too."

This could not be happening she told herself. Tears were flowing from her eyes like rivers do after a major rain storm. She was inconsolable. This whole horrible episode felt like a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from it. As the realness of it all sank in, she realized that this was not a nightmare. Nightmares ended, but this was actually happening to her and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

The nurses rushed in and had to restrain her. Her shoulder hurt like hell.  
Why were they restraining her for? Why where they being so mean to her? Couldn't they tell she was in physical and worse, emotional pain?

Suddenly, she felt the pinch. They were sticking a needle on her. She screamed harder and tried to release herself from being restrained. She heard her mom sobbing. A minute later or so, the medical staff finally let her loose. Her eyes got heavy again.

For the next two weeks everything was like a daze to Julia. People came and went to the hospital. Policemen came over and got her statements. It wasn't long before she figured out they had no real suspects nor anyone in custody so she quickly lost interest in talking to them.

After three weeks of being at the hospital, Julia was wheeled out of the hospital by her family. Her parents took her straight to their house. She didn't even go to Erik's funeral because she couldn't handle it. She didn't want to speak to anyone but everyone kept on calling, kept on visiting, people kept on sending her things. She couldn't care less and she found all that attention annoying. Her entire life had been destroyed in about ten minutes and nothing made sense to her anymore. She didn't have a reason to live anymore.

It was another month before she ventured back to their downtown condo. Erik had given it to her as a gift and they had lived such happy times in there. Her parents had been making trips there to get things for her and check on it. When she finally went back, her mother insisted that her brother went with her. That's when she figured out they actually never left her alone because they were afraid of what she was going to do to herself.

After a minute of being in the apartment for the first time, she broke down. Everything in that apartment was a reminder of the life she had lost. Her brother held her tight and kept telling her that someday things would be all right. Somehow Julia didn't feel that would be possible for her ever again.

That same evening, Julia had an epiphany. She recognized that Julia had died the day Erik got killed; that was the day she became Jules. Jules was the person who remembered clearly the words that were spoken: "_Finish him off……You heard the orders… he wants him dead_." Contrary to Julia, Jules actually had a reason to live and that was to track and kill those who had wanted Erik dead. Julia was completely defeated but Jules was very much alive and thirsty for revenge.

Jules forged a plan but to get the wheels in motion, she needed to give the appearance of normalcy in front of all of her family and friends. So, "Julia" went back to work and began to slowly socialize. Her loved ones were surprised at her miraculous recovery and stopped watching her. Jules used 'Julia' as a façade until she could locate the perpetrators. Behind everyone's back, she began going to the police to learn more about whom they were, started her physical conditioning and began going to the shooting range. She was no criminal but she was learning to think like one, to act like one.

When she felt more confident, she began venturing out to the neighborhood where it all had happened. To keep under the radar, she began wearing different attires, disguises and aliases. Seeing the scene of the crime for the first time since the shooting was really brutal on her. But every time she went back, she would force herself stop by because it made her stronger somehow.

Two detectives were particularly helpful to her: Detective Jessica Wallis and Detective Joel Silver. Both of these detectives worked in the gang unit. Wallis was a four-year veteran and Silver had been there for three years but had gone under cover. Jules was very attracted to his practical knowledge of the streets and he seemed to be very empathetic to her situation. Detective Silver seemed to understand her pain. He was the first person to point out that the attack had been carried out by a gang since he his undercover status had given him great insight to the various gangs' methods. Julia told him everything that happened that night. When she told him about where they had stopped to buy drugs, how the attack was carried and what she remembered of the men, Silver made the connection. Silver believed that the Darley's were behind the murder. Through him, Jules learned most everything she knew about the Darleys and how they controlled the area of Boston known as Rockside. Very discreetly, she began getting her hands around everything that had to do with Bones and Billy Darley who where the leaders of the gang. Jules knew that Darley senior was the brain and his son was basically the leader of the muscle part of their operations.

Through Silver, Jules also learned an extremely valuable tip. The Darleys had a rival gang that was quite strong and powerful. The head of the gang was Duke Trenor. Jules thought it would be beneficial for her to check them out and her observations confirmed everything that Silver told her. After evaluating the situation, Jules saw two major opportunities for her. Since the Trenors hated the Darleys, she could directly forge an alliance with them. The other possibility and the one most attractive to her, was to associate herself with them somehow without revealing her true motives. Then, she could figure out ways to make it look like the Trenors wanted to take the Darleys out. Jules didn't think it would be hard to taint some of the corners and start false and nasty rumors to put more pressure on the already existing tension and distrust between the two groups. Her goal was to start off a turf war between the two gangs. That would be a total genius streak because they would decimate each other. All those fucking gang bangers would get a one way ticket to hell and she would have to do the bare minimum. Jules was even open to the possibility of getting herself involved with Duke himself if need be to get her plans carried out.

However, to accomplish all of this, she would have to fly under the radar. She knew she could do that, but the desire to take down the Darleys herself made it more difficult than she had expected it to be. If she could only find an accomplice. It would be difficult to find someone to trust that would break break ranks with the Darleys. For that she would have to take advantage of someone's weakness and discontent with the status quo. In the end, Jules' goal was to be able to look at Billy and Bones directly in the eyes as she shot them dead.

As she quietly solidified her plans, the double-life that Jules lived was proving to be too exhausting. When she needed strength, she headed to the cemetery. There she would talk to Erik to gather the courage she needed to carry out her plans. Or at least she felt, she was talking to him and she would "tell" him about her plans.

She also began liquidating her accounts, selling her belongings until she was ready. One day, she never came back to her parent's house or to work. That was the day when she officially assumed her new full-time identity as Jules. Sweet, proper Julia no longer existed. It was ironic that the pet name that Erik had given her was "Angel" and out of this mess, the only thing that had survived was now a demon. The demon's name was Jules.

Jules sent her and Erik's parents a letter saying she had decided to travel around the world to find herself. She was conscious that it was not fair to them or Erik's family for her to leave like that but they served no purpose in her life anymore. Most importantly, if anything in her plans went wrong, a lack of contact with her would keep them out of harms way. Jules could not bear the idea of staining her hands one more time with the blood of another loved one.

Her personal vendetta was now on its way and she was not going to stop until it's very last consequences. She had to see through that the Darleys were finished.

**Notes:**

_Thanks for reading! _

_Coming Next: Background on Jules' accomplice_


	10. Chapter 11

**Chapter 10 – Breaking Rank**

_"I will forgive but I won't forget__  
__And I hope you know you've lost my respect_

_You better watch out__  
__If you don't know whats going on around you"_

_"Blood" -Papa Roach_

The man hung up the phone from talking to Jules and continued to drive. Now, he could see the sign ahead of him: "Pennington Cemetery. Open until dusk." It was clearly after dusk but he knew very well that no one was around to enforce the visitor hours. The first time Jules suggested to meet in this place, he had been skeptical. However, she had been right. No one was ever here. Knowing this and that she was on her way, he was hoping to mix business with pleasure on this evening.

He parked the car in their usual meeting spot. As he waited for Jules to arrive, he could not help but reminisce about the path that had taken him to forge an alliance with a woman he had not seen more than fifteen times in his life.

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

"Billy, I need to speak with you."

"What's happening?"

"Quite a bit, it's my sister…."

"Oh yeah?"

"She got involved himself with this dude and major shit has happened. He completely used her and then dismissed her like she was a piece of trash. I'm looking for some payback."

"Be more specific," Billy firmly requested.

"Well, the guy knocked her up, forced her have an abortion and then dumped her like a disposable object. She's been in this downward spiral ever since."

Billy smirked. "That explains why your sister has been whoring around a lot lately."

The man kept quiet. _No fucking surprise in his response. If you only had a mother and a sister, you fucker!_ He didn't like Billy's response or demeanor but he knew better than to show that he had taken issue with it. If he wanted to secure Billy's help, he needed to keep his feelings to himself.

What the man didn't know is that Billy could see right through him. Although he despised the whore the man was talking about, he changed his attitude to give the appearance of being more understanding of the man's troubles. It's not that Billy cared about what happened to that stupid bitch but he saw this incident as an opportunity where he could potentially profit and secure some personal gains from this, that of course, in conjunction with other circumstances.

"So who's the motherfucker?" Billy asked

"Duke Trenor."

Billy laughed hard. "Your sister is way more fucking dumb than what I thought she was. She had it coming for crossing us. How did _you_ allow that to happen?"

"She obviously went behind my back Billy," the man tried to explain. _Someday it will be your ass in the sewer and we'll see what the fuck happens._ "I know my sister knew well he leads the main rival crew. Fucking believe me that I beat the shit of her when I first found out. But I can't fucking babysit her all day."

"So you come to me with this problem, involving this fucking punk who is my number one enemy and what? You expect me to start a fucking war because your sister is dumb as shit?"

The man had to contain his anger. _So much for our brotherhood._ He carefully chose his words. He had been thinking about this for a while and had anticipated Billy's reaction.

"Of course not but there are other ways to get back at the fucking punk. _How do I put this at the third grade level for you dumb fuck? _Perhaps we can find a way to screw up one their arms or drug deals….you know….people slip ….cops can 'accidentally' find out and get a deal busted. Having the Trenors loose money and feel the heat from having the cops on their tail, works well for your interest in the end…..brother."

Billy stared directly at the man as if he was considering what he was proposing.

"I'll get back to you. Something like this needs to be run through Bones first."

_Of course! Billy, the worthless piece of shit, has to check with the brain first._

"I understand dog!" the man responded.

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

"So you want some fucking payback for your sister?" Bones asked the man.

"Yes," the man answered firmly.

"So, Billy's boys are not good enough for your slut sister and she had to go across town to spread her legs to the enemy?"

Bones' comment upset the man but just like he did with Billy, he kept his feelings to himself. _I'll have to put up with his fucking lecture if I want something done about Duke Trenor._ He also knew he couldn't afford to show any fucking weaknesses.

"My sister has always been rebellious and stupid. However, I think this time, she got burned pretty badly. I don't think she'd dare to make a move like that ever again."

"Can you fucking guarantee me that? Bones asked cunningly.

The man heard Billy snickering and turned to look in his direction. _Fucking prick! Laugh all you want now, I will have my day at your expense someday._ Then, he directed his attention back to Bones.

"As I told Billy, I can't babysit her all day but I'll do my best to keep her in check."

"You mean, keeping her in check like you were doing so fucking well when she was rolling around with Duke?"

"No better than that!" the man said firmly. "I underestimated her at that time, it won't happen again."

"But can you fucking guarantee me a 100% that she won't do something stupid like that again? Bones asked.

The man struggled to answer. _And to think people fear Billy, this fat fucker is truly a complex son of a bitch._ He finally managed to reply a straight-to-the-point "No."

"I don't think the payback you are seeking is going to happen," Bones responded with a wide smile on his face. "The slut you have for a sister got what she fucking deserved. Now, let me be clear on this before you get all pissy at me. I'm going to take pity on you and her. I will overlook the fact she went behind you and the entire crews' back to whore herself around with that Trenor fuckstick because I am sure you did what you could to keep her in check. I ain't starting a war with the Trenors for a good-for-nothing air head whore! You need to let this fucking thing go and do it like today. If I find out you are going behind our backs, you will find yourself bleeding inside my fucking trunk with the whore's head right next to you. Are we fucking clear on this?"

The man turned to look at Billy who was giving him a stern look. He had to keep his boiling temper in check and not let up that he wanted to fucking blast the two Darleys into pieces. _These two fuckers deserve to die and now but I know better than this. They both have plentiful enemies. All I have to do is sit and wait for the right opportunity to come to me and then I will fuck them big._ The man exhaled calmly, turned to look at Bones and with an expressionless face nodded affirmatively.

"Next time either you one of you two sandbagging son of a bitches come to me and make me loose my fucking time because of some slutty chick problem; I'm not going to be as merciful as I was today. You two can leave my sight; I have a fucking appointment coming up."

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

The man saw a truck driving in his direction and immediately recognized it. Seeing that Jules was in close proximity, made him think about the first time he had ever laid out eyes on Jules. It had been more than a few years ago. Jules was Julia back then and she had come with her then boyfriend Erik to Rockside. He didn't think much of her; she was just one more snotty suburban chick tagging along with her boyfriend as the punk bought drugs. The only reason he remembered her is because he had hit it off with Erik ever since he became a regular costumer. Erik was a cool guy and they always chatted for a while when he stopped to buy. His girlfriend always acted like she had a stick up her ass. Then, of course, he knew about Erik's murder and he had felt terrible about it.

Then about five months ago, he had been surprised to run into her at a very divvy bar, which he found very unexpected and puzzling. Jules was there with a much darker hair color and had a completely different look and demeanour to her. She was not Miss Proper anymore and was getting it on with a very questionable dude. He saw her leave with the guy and that was something he considered rather strange and unexpected from what he knew about her. As far as he had learned, after that evening nobody ever heard from this dude no more.

Then, one day Jules popped up out the blue in his neck of the woods. That also seemed odd enough. He had recognized her from the very first day but had not said anything to anyone. It had really intrigued him to see her there especially when he learned that she sought to wrap up a weapons deal. To him that smelled putrid at some many levels and Billy had been correct in ordering a tail on her right away. However, all along, something told him to keep his mouth shut regarding what he personally knew about her and his intuition proved him right. Shortly after and during the one night when he was tailing her, he had figured out not only that Jules knew that she was being followed but also that she had finally recognized him. She gestured him to come with her.

As he walked following her, he turned the corner to find Jules waiting for him with a gun on hand. She directed him to an alley, took his gun away and that was the day when they first began talking. They spoke for a long time about many things but especially about Erik. For the second time, he kept this information to himself instead of telling Billy who Jules was and that conversation would unofficially mark the beginning of their alliance.

The man was brought back to reality when he saw the trucks' headlights just a few feet away from where he was parked. She parked her truck next to his vehicle. When she got out the car, the man was waiting for her with a playful expression.

"Hey Sweetie,"

"Hey, Jules,"

Julia walked up to him and sat on the hood right next to the man. She snuggled up to him.

"Trying to butter me up?" he joked. Then he quickly turned to grab her by the neck to try to kiss her.

"Dude! Calm down," Jules said resisting. "I wasn't being _that friendly_ with you!"

The man let her go with an annoyed look.

"Don't give me that attitude!" Jules said reprimanding him. "Let's not forget you were the one who took forever to interrupt the action with Darley. How do you think that made me feel?"

"I changed my mind," he said now being short with her and with a serious look to him.

"I could tell. You don't want Billy dead, do you?" she asked as she took a step closer to him.

"No."

"Awwww Sweetie, don't tell me you are getting all sentimental now? I know Billy has been your buddy for so long but revenge is ruthless business," she said teasing him. He did not look very happy with her.

Jules playfully put her arm over his shoulder to soften the jab. The man gave her a confused and annoyed look as she was now very close to him. Jules left her arm where it was but made a mental note to tone things down. She was so used to playing games with men that she didn't know when or how to stop anymore. This was the time to stop because having secured this guy's help was a critical piece to her plan. She didn't need to piss him off or make him have any other doubts. Without his help now, she could be in deep trouble.

"Talk to me Sweetie," she said looking at him directly in the eyes and trying to sound caring.

"Well Jules," he said in a more mellowed tone. "At the end of the day, he wasn't the one responsible for ruining my sister and for turning down my payback request."

"So you have it for big daddy Bones?"

"Yes…..and of course Trenor. You know this Jules."

Jules felt him tense up again but stayed quiet as she nodded affirmatively.

"Did your little party with Billy make _you_ change your mind now?" the man asked in a very stern tone.

"No," she replied reassuringly. "I'm just taking a moment to think about the differences in our goals."

"Yes but we need each other. Neither one of us can't do this on their own."

Jules thought that although nearly a caveman, her accomplice was not stupid at all. Their conversation got interrupted by the sound of his ringing phone. As he took a look at the screen, he gave Jules a warning look.

"Shit, I gotta take this Jules, it's him!" he said to her before answering the call.

"Yo Billy…..Yeah, I'm following her just like you asked. What's going on?..... What? The cops busted him? Wow, that fucking blows man……. Oh, she's driving and I'm following her…..I have no clue were the fuck she's going, we're going away from Boston actually," he said as he winked at her. "Anything else you need me from me dog? Ok, Roger that."

Jules gave the man a wide smile. "You scare me, you lie too well."

"Isn't about time you give me some loving?" he said grabbing her by the hips and pulling her closer to him

"Sweetie, you don't want me right now, trust me," Jules playfully responded as she tried to keep him at a safe distance for her. "I didn't get to shower after that freaking marathon I had with Billy. Then, you're not my type, I told you before. Lastly and most importantly, we need to get our heads together tonight and now. Who knows when we'll have another chance like this to talk. If Billy catches us….."

"…..he'll blow our fucking brains out, I know," he said interrupting her looking worried. "Let's figure this out then."

"Okay Sweetie, this is what I want to propose to you," Jules began explaining. "I should be getting a call from my informant soon, so I should be ready to act anytime within the next two days. Duke's big party is also coming up in a few and that's when I plan to begin engaging him to get the final pieces set up and rolling. Your job is to keep Billy in check and in control for me so I can do my thing. I will secure the information we need to bring the key shark down which is our main objective. Right?"

"Right," the man enthusiastically agreed.

"I mean, that is _the_critical step. Without the brain, the rest of the operation will fall apart. That is also our safety net. In case anything goes wrong and we get killed before we go after them, at least we will have everything else in place to get them for breaking the law. After that…... well, I know how you feel about your buddy Billy but I think everyone's head is fair game after that point. I'm sorry. I have my own vengeance to complete. Can we agree to that?"

"Sounds fine with me," the man responded.

Chapter End Notes:

_**Thank you for reading! Please let me know if you there is anything else that you would like me to address.....D-Day (Day Zero) is quickly appraoching for Jules.**_


	11. Chapter 12

**Chapter 11 – Round 2**

_"Mouth to mouth, lust to lust__  
__spontaneously combust__  
__I struggle with myself again__  
__quickly the walls are crumblin'__  
__Don't know if I can turn away..."__  
__  
__"What would happen" - Meredith Brooks_

Jules heard her phone ringing. Since she only gave her number to key contacts, she knew this call had to be someone contacting her with key information. When she looked at the number, she let out a wide open smile. She had been expecting this phone call for quite some time.

"Hello?"

"Jules, it's me," the voice spoke.

"About time you popped up. Are you on a safe line?"

"Yes, I got the info for you."

"I'm relieved. I've been waiting for this for so long and you've taken forever my darling."

"I can only move so fast. My informant tells me the accountant gives Big Daddy all the financial info on a CD on a weekly basis. His son uploads that data in a laptop. Apparently, the accountant keeps two sets of books and, as expected, one doesn't match the IRS official tax form. Jules, you need to get that data because that is exactly how we're going to get the big shark."

"Where is the laptop?"

"In the son's apartment."

"I need a little bit more info. Where exactly is the laptop? Where does he keep the disks? What is the password to the laptop?"

"We're really not sure about the exact location of the laptop or the disks. You will have to find out on your own. His password is his favorite drinking hole, no spaces in the name," the voice said.

"You have to be kidding me?" Jules laughed hard.

"The easiest would be for you to be around when the disks are dropped. Your next opportunity is in 3 days. Yes, that coincides perfectly with the other thing. You need to get a copy of one or more disks or get the data from the laptop itself."

"Consider it done," Jules said confidently.

"Not so fast Julie girl! I want the Father, he's mine! It is my neck sticking out in here for you. The other fool…..I don't care what you do. I've been after him for so long that it's a sick affair, I really don't care. Do as you will."

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

The noises in the gym were fading out fast as the lunch hour rush began dying down. Jules was boxing to help her release some of the built up tension she had from the last few days and from knowing the final phase of the plan was about to start. She was so close to the end, she could almost see it unfolding.

She found herself hitting the punching bag harder and harder. The reason why she was hitting the bag so hard today had a first name and last name. She kept on picturing Billy Darley's face in the middle of the punching bag. Ever since she spent the night with him, Jules could not stop thinking about him. She kept on replaying in her mind all the things he did to her that night. "Damn it!" she thought with anger and hit the bag as hard as she could.

Jules was a little scared of having all these thoughts floating around her head. She had been numb for so long, she was used to not feeling anything for anyone. Then, that night, how Billy touched her, how she felt…..he had fucked her so differently from anyone else. She felt really conflicted about her feelings. At least she knew for sure, it was not love. She could never love someone like him. However, she had this insane lust for him now that just wouldn't die down.

Ever since she had found and murdered her attempted rapist, her last and second killing, Jules had not allowed anyone to touch her. This was the first time in basically 11 months where she actually had the urge of physically being near another human being. Just when she thought she was completely soulless and dead in the inside, she was finding out that the woman in her was still alive. Jules felt angry at herself for feeling that way. With that thought in mind, she stepped it up and began hitting the punching bag almost in a fury. Jules told herself that regardless of her unsettling feelings, make or break, she was still having her retribution.

Jules got tired after a while and she headed to the woman's locker room. After taking a shower, Jules wrapped tightly one large towel around her body and walked to her locker to get changed.

She suddenly heard somewhat of a commotion coming from the entrance of the Women's locker room.

_"What are you doing in here?"__  
__"Get him out!"__  
__"This is the ladies' locker room you jerk!"_

Jules took her gun out, it sounded like a pervert had joined an all-girls party. She took the safety lock off her gun and walked to the end of the hallway, gun ready to shoot.

Jules could not believe it.

There he was. The shaved head in a brown leather jacket was in the middle of the ruckus.

"Relax! All of you need to calm the fuck down. There is nothing here that I haven't seen before!" Billy stated as he walked inside the women's locker room just like it was an office or a liquor store. Their eyes met and he smirked at her. He immediately walked in her direction.

"There you are!" he said.

There were about eight other women in the locker room aside from Jules. They all continued to complain about his presence. Jules took advantage of the confusion and hid her gun in one of the towel racks.

"What a perv you are, get out! You are disrespecting us!" one woman yelled at Billy, miserably failing to cover herself up.

"You're the one fucking disrespecting me. Cover yourself up woman! I don't need to see…that," he said with disgust. "Now, listen up ladies, I'm officially closing down this locker room due to an inspection. You all need to get the fuck out and by that I mean, now!"

Billy directed an intense look at Jules. The women were furious at him but slowly began complying with his order. When most of the women had left the locker room, he strutted to her.

"You are insane, you know," she said shaking her head.

"I get that a lot," Billy said and grabbed her by the arm. "I told you I would find you."

"What do you think you are doing?" she asked as he kept on dragging her to the end of the hallway.

"What do you think? I told you we weren't done yet."

"Like what? In here?" Jules protested as they got in front of a door that was labeled as "Spa – Massage Room." "Are you crazy?"

"I'm tight with the owner and I only have 30 minutes." Billy announced his timetable.

"30 minutes? What the fuck Billy? ......Well, hurry the hell up then!" she demanded.

He gave her a puzzled looked but let out a chuckle. He didn't say anything else to her and just drew her into the room, slammed the door hard and locked it behind him. He put his gun on a table and quickly started moving towards her as he took his jacket off and threw it on the floor. He then swiftly pulled her towel off from her as he began cornering her in. It was obvious he wanted her and he wanted her now. Jules was completely aroused by his boldness but before he would do anything, she managed to control herself.

"Diving suit, please?" she demanded when he pulled her closer to him.

"Why are you such a pain in the ass?"

"Because I think you are just like a credit card, you slide wherever you're accepted."

Billy nodded his head in annoyance and pulled out a square packet from of his wallet and flashed it to her. Jules was enjoying the view until Billy took a hold off her. Before she could react, Billy had turned her around and put her against the wall. He pressed his entire body on her and began biting her neck. His hand was already in between her legs, gently digging and caressing her most sensitive spot.

"Oh Billy," Jules gasped and she heard him snickering. Jules began to feel the moistness in between her legs multiply exponentially as she moaned from his touch and the playfulness from his lips. He was desperately kissing and biting her neck almost as if he knew how hungry she had been for him too. Billy was already unzipping his pants with his free hand. As he stopped the action to put the condom on, Jules turned around to double-check on him and because she wanted to enjoy the view. He gave her a taunting look as he fitted himself. He turned her around and grabbed her by the hips to position her to welcome him from behind. Jules then began feeling him penetrating her. He started systematically, adjusting her hips to his thrust. Once he felt he had stretched her well enough, his trusts got deeper and rougher. Jules thought that Billy acted like an animal during sex and they were inside the room for a while. Deep down Jules thought she had enjoyed it a little too much but then again she knew that so did he. She was confident they were there closer to an hour, way more than his announced thirty minutes.

Jules found her towel and placed her around her body. Billy was getting dressed and his eyes were fixed on examining the scar she had on her right shoulder. He knew very well women didn't have those types of scars.

"I've been meaning to ask you how did you get that?"

"It's from a car accident," she convincingly lied to him

"Looks like it was fucking rough, what happened?"

"I flew out the window, it was pretty bad."

Jules felt she needed to change the conversation topic and fast. She didn't like the path that Billy was taking down with his inquiries. She thought of the perfect and convenient distraction and she would be killing two birds with one stone.

"So that was it Darley? Was this our much touted big o' second round? I thought I told you I didn't like to be disappointed by men."

'You gotta be fucking kidding me. You nearly blacked out on me!"

"Well, you did set my expectations pretty high…and this was just……oh well, forget it! Are we good now? I shouldn't owe anything anymore." Jules stated cunning manner.

"Are you telling me that _this_ was not good enough for you?"

"It doesn't matter hon. Like you said earlier, that was not the point of our initial deal. We're good Billy, don't worry about it," she purposely turned around to give him time to react. When she felt a hand on her arm dragging her, Jules smiled in her mind.

Billy pulled her to him so quickly that she was facing him in less than half a second later. Jules could see the fury building up in his eyes

"I don't ever get complaints from women," he said with clenched teeth.

"There is always a first time," she said calmly but she saw right away that Billy started taking slow but menacing steps towards her. He quickly grabbed her by the wrists and slammed her hard into the wall.

"I'm not liking your tone nor your attitude," he said as he roughly cupped her chin with his hand.

"I'm sure you will get over it," she playfully whispered to him as she blew him a kiss.

Billy let out a sigh, let her arms loose but and pressed his body closer to hers. He then slowly brushed his nose from down from her collarbone up her to neck and he said: "Since you are so damn dissatisfied…." Billy began stating until Jules interrupted him.

"You wanna make it up to me? she asked smiling seductively and as she squeezed his buns hard. "How sweet! Well Darley, I am in the mood to misbehave and quite badly actually….."

Jules had moved her hands now to wrap them around his neck and gave him a taunting but short kiss on the lips. Billy had calmed down by now. He playfully smiled and whispered "What do you have in mind Jules?"

"How about you take me to _your _place for round 3?"

Chapter End Notes:

_**Thanks for reading! Yes, Jules has a very key informant. We're finally getting to point where D-Day is coming. As usual and if you are so kind, please let me know what you think.**_


	12. Chapter 13

**Chapter 12 – Don't Save Me, Fix Me or Help Me**

_"Don't try to fix me I'm not broken __  
__Hello __  
__I'm the lie"_

_"Hello" - Evanescence_

Joe and Bodie were in the Mustang outside the gym waiting for Billy to come out and be done with Jules.

"What the hell?" Joe complained. "It's been more like a fucking hour, I'm baking in here!"

"Dog, did you really think it was gonna be just 30 minutes?" Bodie laughed. "You know your brother…"

At that moment they saw Billy walking out of the gym smoking and strutting big time.

"Sure enough, mission accomplished!" Bodie pointed out to Joe.

Before Joe could say anything, Billy had reached the black Mustang. He nodded to them and purposely exhaled aiming for the inside of the car just to mess with them.

Joe was pissed off. Not only was he drenched in sweat but now he was coughing like crazy. Bodie followed a few seconds later with a cough too.

Billy just had this devilish grin to him and then he handed out orders: "You two fucking punks need to be gone and now."

"Why?" Joe asked.

"Because I said so you dickhead." Billy gave Joe an annoyed look and leaned on his car as he smoked away.

As Bodie called to make transportation arrangements, he noticed that once again Billy had not said a word about his supposed good times with Jules. He typically would have bragged about something but he hadn't so far. Billy always dodged topics for a reason and Bodie was a little suspicious about why he was keeping this to himself. It was time to do some hard core digging.

"Heco and Jamie are on their way to pick us up," Bodie announced. "So Bill, you've got a big grin across your face. All went well I take it….?"

Billy curled up a smile as he took a deep drag of his cigarette.

Bodie thought it was looking like Billy was pretty infatuated with Jules as he still wasn't saying a damn thing. Based on Billy's behavior, Bodie could tell that Billy was going to make sure that there would be repeat encounters with this woman.

"So what's happening? Where is she?" Bodie continued to fish for information.

"She's taking a shower. She's coming," Billy responded as he took another draw of the cigarette and then tipped the ash to the side.

Bodie looked at Joe who was now rolling his eyes. Joe got out the car and lit up a cigarette.

At that moment, Jules came out of the gym and was heading towards the Mustang. Billy nodded at Bodie to get out the car and Bodie threw at him the Mustang's keys.

"Hi Bodie," Jules greeted him in a friendly manner and then she looked at Joe. She knew who he was but pretended not to know him. Joe looked much younger than she expected but far smarter than what people seemed to think. "Hi" she said to him with a smile.

"Jules, this is Joe, my brother and professional fuck up," Billy stated.

"Oh, another Darley? How lovely, nice to meet you Joe," Jules said charmingly but as Joe acknowledged her, she sensed he was sizing her up as to what to make of her.

"Bodie, you're in charge tonight. I'm gonna be…occupied," Billy stated as he smirked at Jules.

Bodie and Joe exchanged glances.

"I got it covered dog," Bodie responded complying.

Joe decided to push it. "Hey Billy, Bones said…."

Billy gave him a deathly stare and abruptly interrupted his brother: "Unlike you, I'm fucking sure Bodie is man enough to handle things, isn't that right Bodie?"

As he said this, Jules turned to give Bodie a serious look.

Bodie nodded affirmatively and Jules smiled at right-hand-man. Bodie gave her a fixed look and they both seemed to understand what each other was thinking. Jules thought of how reliable Bodie was and was feeling confident that Bodie would note allow any interruptions that evening. However, she was having a very uneasy feeling at noticing Joe's obvious distrust for her. She was concerned Joe could say something else to throw a wrench on her plans. Jules was not going to let that happen and miss an opportunity to go to Billy's apartment to get what she needed. She thought it was time to stroke Billy's ego and to do it big.

Jules snuggled up to Billy and began speaking to him in a flirtatious manner:

"Shouldn't we get going Billy? I really need you to show me that big gun that you have."

"You need more huh? Lucky you that I like to keep my customers satisfied," he responded playfully.

Joe looked at Bodie to alert him he was suspicious about Jules.

"Well, I really need it and you know which one I want Billy," she said staring at Billy in the naughtiest way as she slowly pressed her middle finger down Billy's arm.

Jules knew very well she would finish disarming him with that sentence but she also knew she had to press on hard to get him out of there soon and before that other fool of a brother came up with another stupid distraction.

Right away, she whispered in Billy's ear: "Let's go baby. Can't wait for you to have me any way you please."

He looked at her with an intense expression and Jules knew they would be leaving right away. Billy turned to look at his brother and his right-hand-man.

"Bodie, unless someone gets killed, do not fucking call me. If I get any fucking interruptions tonight….like the other day….. I swear I will be merciless with the prick who dares to waste my time," he said fiercely.

Billy gave Jules a nod to get going and they both began heading to his car. They both got in Billy's black Mustang and sped off from the parking lot.

"I'm hungry. Let's go eat something while we wait for Heco and Jamie to get here," Bodie suggested.

Joe looked like he was not happy with what had just transpired.

"Joey, Billy is a big boy, he can take care of himself," Bodie said sternly. "Let it go man!"

But Joe couldn't let it go. As he followed Bodie, Joe was thinking he needed do some digging on this chick. This was the first chance he got to see her and he didn't like her attitude, didn't like Billy's behavior around her nor anything he had heard about her so far.

Joe had wanted to say something to his brother but he knew better and stayed quiet this time. Joe could tell Billy was really hot for this whore, a whore who seemed to come out of no where and who was doing a banged up job in working Billy up pretty bad. Joe knew the pattern very well. When Billy had that look on his face, there was no talking him out of leaving with a woman. Billy would get like that with a woman he was infatuated with until lust wore off. But until Billy was ready to move on to the next chick, he knew he needed to keep an eye on both of them.

Then, the next thing Joe knew he needed to do was to get some facts before telling Billy about his concerns.

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

That night, Billy meant business. Jules had no doubt he was not going to give her a chance to complain about Round 3. Jules felt him inside of her over and over again. The entire evening was so intense that at one point, she remembered waking up after passing out from climaxing just to wake up feeling him on top of her thrusting her furiously and making her come again. They were both now lying down exhausted and she was now resting on his chest. Billy was almost as sleep. As opposed to his usual self, he really looked like a normal human being when he rested and there were no traces of his famous temper. Looking back, she had indeed enjoyed making love with Erik but she had to admit it to herself that Billy took things to a whole other level.

He suddenly spoke: "Jules, tell me what the fuck you are up to."

"Sorry. That is _my_ problem and I can take care of it. Thanks."

She felt him tense up. He had not liked her answer. Jules thought that Billy probably was a control freak just like his father was.

"Jules, just fucking tell me!" he said firmly to her.

"No, you need to step away from this shit or you're going to get yourself hurt. I am giving you a fair warning Darley."

"Jules, stop with the tough girl bullshit! You know I have the means and the resources," he insisted. "Shit, I could even fucking take care of this for you. Just tell me what the fuck it is. We could even work out a payment option," he said in a half-serious, half-joking manner.

Jules thought about how stupid men could be at times especially when they made their decisions thinking with their small 'heads' instead of their brains. Apparently, men also never tired of playing the "saviors." Even bad ass Darley here, had to go there and fell for the "rescuer" complex. How annoying that was! _She didn't want any saving, any fucking fixing up or help from him!_ Billy obviously had no clue of what was going on if he was dumb ass enough to offer his help. _If he knew she what she was up to, he would have killed her on the spot._

"I'd like to think about it Billy."

Jules knew there was nothing to think about but going along with what he wanted seemed like the easiest thing to do. She needed to move him away from this topic and fast. As Billy sought out his cigarettes, Jules thought of another distraction.

"Will, can you please not smoke?"

"What you call me?"

"Will. Isn't your name William? "

"Nobody fucking calls me that."

"I like the sound of Will better than Billy. Billy sounds like a kiddie name and you're no little boy," she said naughtily. "Yeap, I'm going to call you that from now on. So Will, please don't smoke around me."

"I don't like that fucking preppy name."

"It's a pet name tough guy! What? Are you like too good for a woman to give you an affectionate name?"

Jules just loved messing with Billy. She could give two shits about this but she just needed to back him out of her business ASAP.

"Fuck…whatever….. do I get a fucking reward for not smoking? Jules, you are asking for a lot!"

Jules was amused by his comment. Once again, Billy was always looking for an angle. He was always negotiating, hustling. She thought she could do that, that worked for her as long as the topic of discussion was changed.

"Well, what do you want?" she asked him.

Billy curled up a naughty smile as he pulled her closer to him and said: "Babe, here's what I want you to do to me…."

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

Later that afternoon, Joe went back to the apartment to check on Billy. Sure enough, he could hear his brother was plenty busy with that slut in his bedroom. Joe decided it was time to do some investigating on his own as Billy's men did not seem too concerned. Damn, not even Bodie seemed worried and this troubled him. He was surprised that Bodie was taking this in such an indifferent manner. He had heard through the grapevine that Bodie had "seen" Jules first and he and Billy actually had an argument about that. Now, Bodie was acting like such a wuss in dealing with this situation when he should be pissed off or suspicious about this chick. It was all so strange Joe thought.

Joe decided to take action. He picked up the phone immediately and made a phone call.

"Bodie?

"What up Joe?"

"You said the details about this woman were fuzzy right?" Joe asked.

"Are you still obsessing about this?" Bodie asked annoyed. "Look Joe, if she really had wanted to check him out, she's had plenty of chances dog!"

"Bodie, tell me the names she goes by," Joe said in a demanding tone. "I'm gonna get to the bottom of this. I'm going to unmask this bitch!"

Chapter End Notes:

_**Thanks for reading. **_

_**Coming Up Next: The morning after gets ugly for Jules. Joe will be finding some info that Jules will not be pleased with. **_

_**Drop me a line and let me know what you think!**_


	13. Chapter 14

**Chapter 13 – Who's the Bitch Now?**

_"She must have done something wrong tonight __  
__The living room becomes a boxing ring __  
__It's time to run when you see him." _

_"Never Again" - Nickelback_

Billy woke up around 9 AM. His head was buried in his pillow and he was still feeling tired. Suddenly he realized he was all alone in the bed. He sat up and saw there was not a trace of Jules. Her things were gone. She had left while he was sleeping.

"Fucking bitch!" Billy said through his clenched teeth.

What could be so freaking urgent that Jules had to leave like that? She knew fucking well he didn't like her pulling shit like that. That woman was such a wild card and it was driving him mad. If he hadn't been so fucking horny, he wouldn't have overlooked that fact again. He had enough of Jules' shit; he was going to find her and teach her a lesson she was never going forget. No fucking woman messed around with him like that and lived to tell.

He got out of bed and got dressed. He grabbed his gun and put it in the back of his pants. As he was leaving his room, Joe and Bodie were coming in into the apartment and knew right away something was up.

"What's wrong Billy?" Joe asked.

"Nothing is fucking wrong," he responded in a dry manner.

Bodie and Joe exchanged glances but headed to the living room and started opening some beers. Joe looked around and noticed Jules was not around.

"Uh-Oh! Jules must have been a bad girl…." Joe pointed out in a mocking tone.

"Don't start with your shit Joe!" Billy barked at him.

"Wait! She left and didn't say good bye to you? It looks like you just got handed a bitch card Billy!" Joe pointed out and while enjoining the rarity of the moment.

Billy leaped right behind the couch where Joe was sitting and smacked him viciously on the back of the head. He then grabbed him by his hair and hissed at him:

"You better watch your motherfucking mouth. Next time you'll be getting a fucking concussion. I'm guaranteeing it."

Billy let him go, sat down opposite from Joe and grabbed a beer. Drinking would probably calm him down a notch and help him think more clearly.

Joe now painfully caressed the back of his head and his face looked upset. Bodie gave Joe a dirty look for making Billy angrier and this annoyed him. Joe hated that Billy still treated him like he was a kid. However, he was not going say anything else now. Opening his mouth would only get him a black eye and for what? All for that fucking bitch? It was not worth it to him.

"If you two shit heads know what is good for you, you two better keep your motherfucking mouths shut," Billy threatened them and then took a sip of his beer like nothing had happened.

"Relax Billy," Bodie managed to respond and tried to diffuse the tension. "It won't leave this room."

"So, you two didn't see where she fucking went? Where you two faggots too busy fucking each other to see anything or did she just disappear into fucking thin air?

"We went out to get some food man. Billy, we'll figure out where she went," Bodie said.

Joe decided to chance it again.

"Billy….I know you two are having out-of-this world sex but I think we need to take a closer look at who she is and what she is doing in here. I don't trust her. I talked to Bodie about this yesterday, there is something fishy with this woman."

"So now you two fucking shitheads talk behind my back?" Billy said defensively.

Joe looked up to Bodie to respond but it looked like he wasn't willing to touch that one. Bodie just stared back at Joe looking really annoyed. Joe figured he had been the one to open up that can of worms and now he was going to have to deal with it.

Joe responded knowing in full he was skating on thin ice already so he measured his words to continue: "Something tells me she ain't right. I'm concerned she has some hidden agenda. All I'm saying is that we need to find out more about her so we can get total peace of mind."

Just as Billy was about to respond, they were interrupted by a hard knock on the door.

"Who the fuck is it?" Billy answered in an intimidating voice.

"It's me, Jules."

The three of them looked at each other surprised that she would be back. As Billy walked up to the door, his eyes narrowed down on Joe with a patronizing stare.

"We'll see who's the bitch now!" Billy hissed at his brother with an arrogant grin.

Billy took his gun out and after checking the peeping hole, he opened up the door. Jules was standing in the hallway and was holding a carry out bag from a restaurant down the road. She looked confused at Billy's expression.

He grabbed her arm and literally dragged her inside the apartment. As he closed the door, he pushed her hard against the door and barked at her: "Was I not fucking clear enough to you about my do's and don'ts? Jules, you've officially reached the limit in testing my fucking patience!"

As Billy spoke he pointed the gun at her and Joe immediately noticed that Jules hardly reacted to the weapon that his brother pressed against her chest. He knew very well that was not a normal reaction for a chick. He had seen Billy get rough with his women one too many times and every time Billy had pointed a gun at any of them, it terrified them completely. They pretty much panicked and started crying or got hysterical. But Jules seemed fairly unfazed and abnormally calm for having a gun pointed at her chest. Her attitude made Joe feel vindicated on his suspicions and now he wanted to know why she wasn't hitting the panic button.

"Calm down dude!" Jules replied to Billy. "I got hungry and there is nothing in here. You were sleeping hard and I went to get us something. If you don't want me back here Will, just fucking tell me. There is no need for this."

Joe whispered to Bodie: "Will? Is that what she called him?"

Bodie nodded yes and motioned to Joe to stay quiet. Joe rolled his eyes at the situation. He could not believe the state of things, the bitch had Billy by the balls.

"You are about to be indoctrinated Jules, get moving!" Billy yelled at her as he dragged her back to his room.

Jules threw the carry out bag she was holding to Bodie and Joe. "Enjoy it boys," she said. As she was being shoved to Billy's bedroom, Jules knew she was about to endure the infamous Darley temper experience.

Bodie and Joe heard the door being slammed and right away heard Billy screaming at her. They also heard a big bump coming from the room.

"Yes!" Joe said excitedly. "Bodie, I think he just hit her!"

"She's had it coming for a while," Bodie said calmly. "Billy is used to women hanging all over him and doing exactly what he says. This is a situation that is gonna require adjustments from somebody and that somebody ain't gonna be Billy. Joey, let's get going."

"No fucking way, I'm staying!" Joe responded. "I wanna see the bitch's face after Billy is done with her and breaks her down."

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

_Inside Billy's room, a lot was happening._

When Billy opened up his bedroom door, he literally threw Jules inside the room and put his gun on top of the dresser. Then, he grabbed her by the arms and he pinned her to the wall.

Jules could see he was breathing heavily out of anger. She genuinely hadn't meant to upset him at all. Before she could say anything, the yelling had already begun:

"Get this in your fucking head woman because it looks like it went right through you. First, you don't ever fucking question me in front of my guys. Not ever! Second, you fucking wake me up before you step a toe out of the bed. I will not give you another warning Jules."

Jules let out an exasperated sigh.

"Baby I just didn't have the heart to wake you up," she began saying but he cut her off immediately.

"Stop fucking 'babying' me Jules," he yelled. "I ain't in that kind of mood today. I told you specifically how I like things to be. Next time, I will get fucking violent with you. That's a whole side of me you haven't seen and it ain't motherfucking pretty."

"Will…."

"And stop calling me that fucking stupid name!" he screamed viciously at her.

As he was about to hit her, Jules barely managed to deflect his hand from hitting her. Billy dented the wall instead and he now looked even more pissed off at her.

Jules quickly slid away from him. Damn it, she thought. Her gun and knife were inside her purse which she had unintentionally dropped when he slammed her into the wall. The purse happened to be on the floor behind Billy. Jules looked for options to reach it but there was no way she could get to it.

"Don't you dare try that on me again Billy!"

Billy was already walking towards her, pulled her up from the floor in one move. Jules got slammed into the wall and landed on the bed. Before she could hit him, he grabbed her by the wrists to pin her down on the bed. Billy then climbed to sit on her. Jules wrestled with him for a while but Billy put all her weight on her. Being 5'3" and 115 pounds, she didn't have a chance over his towering 6'1" and about 185 pounds or so. Billy grabbed her by the neck and Jules stopped fighting him. It was pointless.

Billy continued to press down hard on her neck and taunted her:  
"And what are you going to do Jules if I do it again, huh?"

Jules widened her eyes and worried about how to get out of this mess.

Billy continued speaking: "Hear me out and well babe: I say what goes. Get with the program if you don't want me clocking you on a regular basis!"

"It was an honest mistake! I'm sorry," Jules apologized as she felt his fingers pressing harder on her neck. The last thing she wanted to do is to apologize to a prick like him but she needed to diffuse the situation. Her mind was focused in getting herself out of this jam and out of the apartment.

"I didn't do it to disrespect you. It won't happen again Billy!" Jules apologized more emphatically as she struggled to breathe.

Billy released her neck.

"You are going to do as I say and when I tell you to Jules," Billy stated firmly.

Jules nodded yes. There was no way her accomplice could intervene without busting his cover so she needed to find a way on her own to calm Billy down as soon as possible. Billy's breathing was slowing down. He was still sitting on top of her and she thought it was now safe to wrap her arms around him to get him closer to her and to pretend she needed his comfort. Jules pulled him closer to her and she felt his weight on her.

Their faces were just inches away and she gently caressed Billy's face. She spoke in a very soft voice: "Billy, I will, I promise you I won't do it again. I don't want to upset you baby. Next time, I will remember to wake you up before doing anything," Jules delivered her lines in an Oscar winning–fashion.

Billy was staring at her intently and was deep in his thoughts: Jules was lucky he liked to fuck her that much. That was _his_ problem. There were too many things he liked about this woman. He wasn't quite sure how to deal with this situation because she had these two extreme sides: the gun yielding defiant woman and this sweet, affectionate one. This Jekyll and Hyde thing kept on throwing him off. That loss of sense of control was making him angry, very angry. He got up from the bed. Jules went after him.

"Please don't stay mad at me," she tried getting his attention back as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Baby, I was _very good_ to you all day yesterday."

Jules continued with the charade and smiled at him in _almost _a loving way. She needed to calm him down some more. She was not out of the woods yet as she needed to set up one more piece of the puzzle before leaving his place.

Jules began kissing him on the neck working her way to his lips. Billy was acting distant but she forced him to look at her and she gave him a passionate kiss. He was hesitantly kissing her but eventually gave into it. Jules had found out that the way Billy kissed was very telling of his emotions. This kiss told the whole story to Jules: all was not well with him this morning.

"Actually you better get going Jules. I have to go and take care of some things."

"Is this my punishment for being a bad girl?"

Unwillingly, Billy let out a smirk.

"It's not. I like bad girls……and you are as bad as they come Jules."

"_I am a bad woman indeed_," she said agreeing with him and actually telling him the truth.

"I really have to get going. I was supposed to get done some stuff for your buddy Bones and you kept me from that."

She gave him a naughty smile and kissed him again on the lips and this time he responded well. That was good. It was time to set up her alibi to disappear for some days and she knew he was not going to take it well.

"I understand," she said. "Billy, I have something to tell you."

He gave her an annoyed "what-now" look but nodded at her to continue.

"I have to go home this afternoon. While I was out getting breakfast, I got a call from my mom. She is not doing so well and she needs me. But don't worry, I should be back in five days max."

"Where the fuck are you going?" he inquired.

"Baltimore. That's were my parents live," she said lying. "You can reach me anytime on my cell, if you need anything."

Bang! Second lie in a row. Not that telling him this mattered; she knew well Alpha Dog would not call her as he would consider reaching out to her a sign of weakness.

Billy was deep in his thoughts again.

He thought this trip came at a good time. He needed to cool off from her and think through what he wanted to do. He was never one to loose a grip on things and he was not going to give that up for any woman and certainly not with this one who he knew so little about. As hard as it was for him to admit it, Joe could be up to something.

"Fucking fine with me," he finally responded acting indifferently.

"Okay Billy, be careful," she said dropping him another hint.

Billy was standing in front of his dresser and put his gun again on the back of his pants. He began loading a second gun. He wasn't looking at her anymore and he didn't look up either when she kissed him on the cheek right before she headed for the door.

Given what she was about to unleash in the next few days, Jules decided it would be best to leave things exactly how they were right now.

Jules stepped out the room and made her way through the hallway to the living room. Bodie and Joe were still there and they had clearly stayed to keep an eye on her. Jules could tell they were surprised to see her leaving in one piece. She thought there was no point in striking a conversation with them so she just smiled and waved good bye to them.

When she finally walked out of the apartment, she was emotionally and physically relieved. She stopped a cab to get back to the gym to get her car.

Upstairs in the apartment, Joe was watching her through the window. As soon as he saw her hailing a cab, he said:

"Bodie, put the tail back!"

"Relax Joey!" Bodie replied.

"Fine, I'll order it myself then!" Joe picked up his cell phone and dialed.

"Heco? Start following Billy's bitch again. Yeah….fucking Jules. She's leaving Billy's place right now in a blue and white taxi but you can probably get a head start from Palmer's gym since her car is there. Don't fucking loose her! Keep me informed."

Joe hung up on the phone and reported back to Bodie. "Heco is working with Spink and Jamie to go after her."

"Billy is not gonna be happy that you are playing the shotcaller when you ain't even initiated yet," Bodie pointed out. "He's got other jobs planned and they got dirt to do."

At that moment, they both heard Billy's bedroom door open. Billy came out of the room in a lousy mood and didn't give either one of them the time or the day. He left the apartment in a rush.

Joe felt overly frustrated at this and it made him even more determine to get to the bottom of this Jules problem.

"I fucking hate this woman, I want her dead already," was Joe's response to Bodie.

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

As Jules rode in the cab, she thought with amusement that Billy got mad at her like a little bitch. She admitted to herself that his outburst had taken her by surprise but she never lost it and quickly put that fire under control.

She was also thinking how easy had been to fulfill her mission. With Billy being completely wiped out from their mega-long Round 3, she had the apartment all to herself to do what she needed to do. She had found all that she needed. I had been so easy to sneak out of the apartment with the goods after those two idiots left to eat breakfast. Her job had been easy, too easy.

Jules now focused her thoughts on what she was about to do beginning with that evening. Jules mentally went over the list of what she needed to do now that the "final phase" of the plan was starting that very same night.

_Step One: make contact with the Trenor gang_

The Trenor crew was lead by 27-year old leader Duke Trenor. They were far more guarded that the Darleys so Jules had to pre-identify a specific window of time to get close to them.

She chose Duke's annual birthday celebration which was happening in two days. Everyone knew that Duke went a little hog wild for this birthday.

As she waited for her shoulder to completely heal after the attack and in order to get everything lined up to strike, Jules had decided 6 months ago that would be the perfect opportunity to introduce herself to the Trenors. The whole thing was a huge booze, drug and women fest that it lasted a few days before and after the actual day.

_Step Two: Engage Duke Trenor at all costs._

Jules knew it would be critical for her to get Duke's full attention. If she needed to seduce him, she was willing to go that far if need be. From what she had determined and luckily for her, Duke was an ego-maniac just like Billy. Although he was guarded with strangers, he didn't seem to be that picky with women that knew how to stuff his ego well. Jules decided that was the route she was going to pursue with Duke. She wasn't looking forward to playing this role at all but Jules repeated in her mind her two mottos: _revenge was ruthless business_ and _it's all about the means to the end_.

_Step Three: Start turf war between Trenors and Darleys.__  
_Billy's invite to his apartment had proven extremely useful in this regard.

Jules was thinking that the day to wrap up this blood feud had finally arrived and the end of it all would begin that very same evening.

Chapter End Notes:

_**LOL - So who do you think was the "bitch" in here? (LOL) I'm also curious to hear your thoughts on Jules'plan. Do you think she'll succeed? What's your guess on Joe's impact on her plan?**_

_**THANKS for reading!**_


	14. Chapter 15

**Chapter 14 –Joe Darley, Investigator**

_"That girl is so dangerous, __  
__ That girl is a bad girl, I've seen her type before __  
__ She's so dangerous"__  
__"Dangerous" - Akon_

Joe was sick and tired of how Billy treated him. However, as upset as he was at his brother, the old saying "blood is thicker than water" rang true to him. He thought about the countless of times that Billy had saved his ass with Bones or other people or situations. Joe felt he owed it to his brother to look further into this Jules issue.

The youngest of the Darleys continued the investigation he had started they day before. While Billy and Jules were 'busy' at the apartment, Joe spent hours on the streets asking around but no one knew anything about her. He thought that was extremely odd.

The truth was that Joe had disliked Jules from the moment he heard about her existence. Looks-wise, Joe thought she was just okay. Jules was not his type and he thought her body looked better than her face. In his opinion, what set Jules apart from other women is that she had this fearless, intense attitude that was accompanied with this uninhibited demeanor. As a man, Joe recognized it and knew that attitude had 'sexiness' written all over. Then, after hearing Billy and Jules having sex the day before, he completely got Billy's infatuation. He was not a saint either and if he was in Billy's shoes and was getting it on that well with a chick, he knew he would be coming back for seconds and even thirds. He could not blame his brother for that. A man had to do what a man had to do but business was also business. Joe knew he had his work cut out ahead of him in proving his case against this chick.

Joe was thinking this Jules situation was a pretty big problem, not only in terms of Billy but how his reckless behavior could impact or make vulnerable the entire crew.

Then, from what Joe had heard, Bones had despised Jules upon laying eyes on her. He had to admit that the old man had surprised him with his assessment and perhaps he was not as stupid and senile as he thought he was. If Bones found out that Billy was fooling around with her, the shit would hit the fan. Joe considered that it was clearly better for them to take care of this problem "in-house" before letting it reach Bones.

However, Joe also realized that wouldn't be a bad back up plan either. Bones would not hesitate to take down Jules. That worked for him, he wouldn't have to get his hands dirty, but Joe preferred to be the one to bust Jules in whatever she had up to her sleeve. It would give him more credibility in the eyes of the crew and that was something Joe was not going to pass up. Joe knew his credibility was low among Billy and his men. It annoyed him big time that none of them seemed to realize he always took time to observe everything. He had been paying close attention to Jules and he almost got the sense from her that she was someone that had nothing to loose. That kind of attitude combined with his brother's tendency for being a hot head, could lead to a disastrous result for all of them.

X^X^ X^X^ X^

After Billy left the apartment in a rush, Joe blew off Bodie to head to a place he utterly disliked: the public library. Joe actually hated anything that was remotely academic related. In fact, he hadn't bothered in finishing high school.

According to Joe, school was for losers because anything one needed to know could be learned on the streets. However, in an ironic twist, life itself had been the one to actually show him that the printed word could be of usefulness on occasion, especially to prove facts. So, Joe ended up realizing that libraries could contain critical information such as crime scene and police beat archives. For that reason, every so often he would set foot in them.

As he arrived at the library, Joe thought for second about how he was going to approach his 'investigation.' Jules had to have a real name and Joe decided that her aliases would be his starting point. He used the two names he got from Bodie: Julia McBennet and Julia McFindlay.

After spending hours on the computer researching at the local newspapers archives, he found something.

_**Prominent Lawyer Killed in Suspected Gang Execution**_

_A partner with the prestigious law firm Carlson, Weinstein and Quinsland was allegedly killed by unidentified individuals on Friday night._

_Erik Brenner Abney (29) was killed by three bullets during an attack near the LaSalle bridge overpass. He died on the spot, Boston Police Detective Joel Silver said. The vehicle that Abney was driving had been pursued and intercepted by two other automobiles._

_Julia McFindlay (25), Abney's fiancée, survived the attack. McFindlay is recovering from a gun shot wound to her right shoulder._

_Police is suspecting theft or a gang initiation as a possible motive behind the murder but they are not discarding other leads, Silver said. Silver refused to elaborate on the details due the pending investigation._

_Abney was both a Magna Cum Laude graduate from Harvard Law School and The Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to Miss McFindlay, Abney is survived by his parents and a sister. Funeral for Mr. Abney will be taking place on Wednesday, February 12th at 2:30PM at Pennington Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. _

There was no picture with the Boston Chronicle article and Google didn't show any pictures of her either. "The Daily Boston" had a similar article. This one showed a picture but it was hard to see the faces of the victims in detail. Joe made copies of the articles.

Joe continued looking and ran some additional queries but came up empty. Something told him to check out the missing person reports.

Bingo! There was a 'missing woman's' report on a Julia McFindlay and the report had a picture. Yes, it was her indeed Joe concluded. Jules real name was Julia McFindlay and she was actually a blonde and not a brunette. Joe read the report:

_On October, 3rd, 2008, the family members of Julia McFindlay reported her missing from 212 N. Beacon Ave. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The victim, a financial analyst and a Harvard graduate, disappeared from the family home on Friday and has not been seen or heard from since that date._

_The victim is described as:__  
__• White, non-Hispanic female__  
__• 25 years old__  
__• 5'3" tall__  
__• 110 lbs__  
__• Blonde Hair__  
__• Blue eyes_

Next, Joe approached the help desk. He was looking for his regular buddy Helena to help him find a Harvard Yearbook to find Julia's picture.

Helena was a thirty something-year-old nerdy librarian, the youngest on the staff and his pal. As opposed to the other mousy and dusty looking librarians, Helena was friendly to him but she didn't seem to be there today. The older staff seemed to be avoiding Joe like he was an incubus of multiple diseases.

"Yo ladies, can I get some customer service here? Like before there's a cure for ugliness?" Joe complained. "My brother's life depends on this. I'm not fronting, there's a crazy bitch that wants his head, well literally and figuratively. C'mon, if you don't help me I'm gonna give you some serious misfortune!"

That certainly got the staff's attention but by then Helena had popped up. Joe knew all he had to do was to give her a naughty smile and he would be set with Harvard. As Helena passed him the copies, Joe thought it was interesting to see the contrast between the woman in the pictures and the one in real life. In the pictures, Jules looked very girly and almost innocent. Now, Jules had a hardened and almost tough look to her. She had obviously died her hair and he considered this suspicious on its own. Knowing she was hanging out in their neighborhood, Joe thought that Jules had certainly come a long way from her Harvard education and her cushy Cambridge home. The fact that she was supposed to be missing and seemed to have been living with her family at the time of her 'disappearance,' certainly explained the lack of contact and address info on her.

"High Ten Helena, my sweet cougar! One of these days, you and I….you know…." Joe winked at her and walked away giving her the classic Darley smirk.

Helena got red as a beet. She adjusted her glasses as she always did when she got anxious and out of nervousness knocked down a big pile of books. Joe tried hard not to bust out laughing. Helena was nice but he was just messing with her. He wasn't that desperate to tap on a double-bagger. He had a rep to protect and among his crew, nervous squirrels did not classify as animals that you could count as hunting game.

As he headed out of the library, Joe felt he had completely dominated in this investigation as he now had something concrete to show Billy. He felt he had identified the missing pieces of the puzzle and took a moment to consider his findings. A remote possibility could be that Julia had suffered from amnesia but he quickly dismissed that theory. Was Jules really missing or did she choose to disappear? Why was she on their turf and buying guns?

Another theory slowly began crafting in his mind as he re-read the Boston article. He glanced at the pictures again and that's when he recognized Erik. Then, two words that jump at him: 'gang' and 'execution.' Then, it hit him!

Motherfucker! Joe thought. He now knew that Billy was in danger and he had to warn him and fast. Joe called Billy immediately and he wasn't picking up.

"Fucking Idiot!" Joe said out loud earning him dirty stares from the library patrons. Joe ignored them and texted Billy right away: "Urgent. Call me ASAP."

But something else didn't seem right in this picture. If Jules had been Erik's fiancée, how could she get so close to them and go undetected for this long? Erik was a regular and most of the crew knew him. Although he wasn't around all the time, he even knew Erik would come with his girlfriend sometimes. Some of the men should have recognized her. How could all of the men been such dumb ass punks not to know? Maybe someone did recognize her but they weren't they speaking up. Why would that be the case? Joe's instincts kicked in and anger surged inside of him. He was suspecting _someone_ was holding back for a reason.

Joe's heartbeat was going a million miles per hour. He needed to act fast but first he had to figure out how to go about this because he wasn't sure who to trust now.

Joe picked up the phone again and dialed.

"Hey."

"Joey?"

"I need an update. Where the fuck is Jules?" Joe asked.

"She's at the Southridge Mall."

"Is Billy with her?" Joe needed to know.

"Nope, she is by herself."

"Good," he thought with relief. "If she meets with Billy, you need to stay close to him. If that happens, you call me immediately, you got it?"

"Sure thing Joey. _Ok Roger that_."

Joe thought that sounded a little strange. Jules didn't seem like the shopping type. However, he was relieved to hear his brother wasn't with her and now he needed to get a hold of Billy and fast.

Although Joe had put together some major pieces of the web that Jules had weaved, he had no idea that he had just been given a fake update by Jules' accomplice.

Jules was no where near a mall. She was certainly not in Baltimore tending to a supposed ailing mother. Instead, she was hiding in the storage place she had rented out and was getting ready for 'showtime' that evening. She has just finished cleaning her weapons and getting them ready. Jules had also disposed of any incriminating evidence.

As Joe hung up with her accomplice, Jules was about to doll up to get ready to finally meet with the Trenors. She was especially looking forward to connecting with Duke Trenor.

Chapter End Notes:

_**So how did Joe do? What you think Billy's reaction is going to be to all of this? Jules is heading to Trenor-land that very same evening and is going to seek out Duke. I promise that the drama will begin escalating as of the next chapter.**_

_**P.S: I'm not a big Akon fan but somehow the song cracks me up and it did remind me of my OC who is kinda like a bad girl ;-P**_


	15. Chapter 16

**Chapter 15 – The Veil is Lifted**

_"By now you should know everything you say__  
__Can and will be used against you some day__  
__I got the microphone so don't go too far__  
__Cause I'm gonna tell the whole world how you really are"_

_"Revenge" – Plain White Ts_

Baggy's sister had just delivered Billy some shots when she saw Joe rushing into 'The Four Roses.' Joe's flustered demeanor spelled trouble all over and she quickly got out of his way.

As usual, Joe found his older brother in the back room of the bar and he was drinking with Tommy. Due to his suspicions of a rat, Joe hesitated for a moment to talk in front of a crew member. However, he weighed his options and considered it was more important to warn his brother than keeping the information in.

"Billy, I texted you, I called you….. we gotta talk!"

Billy gave Joe a curious but annoyed nod to speak up.

"Jules is not who she says he is….," Joe announced as he tried catching up his breath. "Her real name is Julia McFindlay."

"Tommy, give my brother a freakin medal….for the special Olympics here. That's an old one, you fucking retard!" Billy pointed out reflecting his boredom at the news.

"So you knew?" Joe asked.

"Is my word not fucking good enough anymore for you dickhead?" Billy snapped at Joe.

Joe swallowed hard. So Billy knew all this time? He felt disheartened; he had gone through all that just to find out that Billy had known all along.

"Billy, aren't you concerned she's misrepresenting herself?" Joe pressed on as he placed the copies he made at the library on the table.

"Not really, it's not like I'm gonna fucking marry her," Billy answered in a dismissive tone.

"Yeah, just keep it focused on the 'fucking' part right dog?" Tommy joked and Billy smirked.

"Why not Billy?" Joe pressed on.

"If she really had some issue with me, she's had plenty of chances to finish me off, don't you think?" Billy responded lifting his right eye brow.

As Tommy waited patiently for the 'Darley quality family' time to end, he began glancing at the copies on the table.

"Fuck Me!" Tommy said unexpectedly.

Both Darleys turned to look at Tommy with curiosity.

"Woa! Jules was the lawyer's fiancée?" Tommy asked surprised. "No wonder she looked familiar! I mean, her hair is dark now. This ain't good Billy, I know for a fact she ain't from around here and considering what… occurred…with that… Erik dude."

Joe felt vindicated as he saw Billy yanking the papers away from Tommy's hands with fury.

"What the fuck is this?" Billy sternly asked Joe.

"It's my investigation. You better fucking read it all Billy, I nearly had to sell my soul to a double-bagger to get it" Joe said.

"You're a fucking soldier Joe!" Tommy high-fived Joe but the latter wasn't amused by the joke. He was paying close attention to his brother's reactions.

Billy intensely scrutinized the papers, he passed sheet after sheet, as if he was absorbing it all in. Joe saw his older brother's eyes filling up with that dark fury with each minute passing by. Billy wiped his nose with the back of his hand and let out a sigh.

"There was no fucking accident, she fucking got shot…..." Billy stated.

"What?" Joe asked confused about his brother's comment.

"Nothing, it fucking adds up. It is her!" Billy got up on his feet and began pacing now visibly tensed up.

"Billy, I can bring her in so we can get her to answer some fucking questions," Tommy offered.

At that moment, Joe's cell phone rang.

"Heco?" Joe answered. "You guys fucking lost her? You dumb shits, how could you loose her?... How long? … You better fucking find her before Billy kicks your asses! Call us back when you do!"

"You wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?" Billy asked in a demanding manner.

"Heco, Jamie and Spink were supposed to be tailing Jules and they fucking lost her about an hour ago. Billy, I asked for the tail back because I've been suspicious of her. I felt we needed to keep an eye on her just in case…brother."

Billy gave Joe a grave look as Joe over stepped his bounds. Then he turned to Tommy and said: "Joe and I are going on a ride. Don't fucking wait for us and keep your motherfucking mouth shut about this."

"Sure thing Billy," Tommy responded in full compliance.

Billy began walking towards the bar exit without staring at Joe and the younger Darley nervously followed him.

"Fuck!" Joe said to himself. Bodie had been right; he should have not been playing the shotcaller when he hadn't even been initiated in the crew. He was fearful of the depth of trouble he was in with his brother.

Billy motioned to him to get in the vehicle and Joe nervously got in.

When they got inside the black Mustang, Billy finally spoke: "Fucking tell me everything. What else did you find out?"

Joe sighed out of relief as Billy started the car. He decided to go straight to the point:

"Jules is up to something. Based on everything I've seen and heard, I think she could be doing one of two things. She is either in with the police working undercover, like gathering evidence and shit…..or she is doing her own thing to avenge Erik's killing."

Billy's breathing began getting more erratic. Joe could see his temper rising.

"I'm leaning towards police rat theory Billy….that explains why she hasn't tried to kill you right?" Joe continued presenting his case.

Billy didn't answer but he was clearly fuming.

"One more thing…. and I think this is fucking important. Most of the men knew about Erik and… the…..eer….incident right?"

Billy nodded affirmatively.

"I know for a fact Erik came often with his girlfriend when he bought from us. How come no one has come forward with that connection? Don't you think it's odd?" Joe asked.

"Erik's spot was the interstate underpass. Tommy, Jamie and Spink were the soldiers and Heco was the governor of that spot. Bodie sometimes stepped in for Heco." Billy replied.

"Who did you have following her?"

"Except for Tommy, the same four fucking pricks!" Billy said slamming his fist on the dashboard

"I hate to say it but something ain't right, at least one person is not talking."

Billy let a deep angry sight out and had his hands literally clenched on the wheel as he drove. Joe was really surprised at the restrain Billy was exercising but he could see that the wheels where turning in his brother's head too.

"I think we've just narrowed our fucking rat suspects then," Billy pointed out.

"How about Tommy?" Joe asked.

"No, I think he's clean. He's been doing other jobs for me. I believe him in saying he didn't recognize her until today because he hasn't been around Jules. I see now why that damn bitch avoided being around the men. Only those four punks have been around her," Billy stated firmly.

"And now we just lost the tail, fuck!" Joe said getting agitated and slamming on the dashboard.

"Calm the fuck down Joe. Let's keep this fucking straight and just between us. If there is a fucking rat, we're gonna wait and see what the fucking rat does or says next. We'll have the fucking rat lead us to her."

Joe let out grin perking up as he looked at Billy.

"So, you said you talked to Bodie about this shit and he ain't doing nothing about this?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, that is very strange…didn't he and Jules…" Joe stopped short of completing his sentence.

"I'll find out what that fucker is up to, one fucking way or another," Billy responded.

Although still being upset, Billy then playfully smacked his brother in the back of his head.

"You did the right fucking thing Joe; you fucking covered my back this time. I'm proud of you brother."

"Happy to do it Billy. It was about time I paid you back somehow for all the times you've saved my ass. Maybe I can officially join the gang now?" Joe asked excitedly.

"Don't fucking push it!" Billy said easing up a bit.

"Billy, what are we doing next? I don't think we should go back to the apartment until we know exactly where she is."

"We're heading to 'The Office.' No one is there right now and we need to be MIA from the crew for a while. This shit ain't staying like this!" Billy said angrily and firmly. "I need to make some phone calls to see what the fuck is up. Then, we'll regroup and plan our next move. If this is what it seems, I am going to take down some people and Joe, you may have to get involved. Maybe you will get your damn fucking initiation after all because nobody fucks with me."

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

"So Spink caught up to her? Where? …Are you're absolutely fucking sure? …  
Yeah, I'm with Billy. Of course, I'm gonna tell him. So that was last night? Fucking bitch! If you know what is fucking good for you, do not fucking lose her again. Keep us informed."

As he overheard Joe's conversation, Billy knew he was about to get more bad news.

Joe hung up and looked as if he struggled to speak.

"Just fucking spit it out," Billy demanded.

"There's no fucking Baltimore trip. Jules is at 'The Metro' right now. Guess who is she with? Fucking Duke Trenor!"

"You're fucking lying!"

"No Billy. The guys lost her yesterday but Heco got a tip and caught up to her. He said she and Duke are leaving the club as we speak. It sounds like they are going to Duke's place," Joe stated somberly and waited for his brother's reaction.

Billy felt he was going to loose it but did not respond to Joe immediately. He was deep in his thoughts: _That fucking whore! He was fucking going to kill her; just blow her fucking brains out!_

Billy felt the urge to slam the entire contents of the room into the wall. Instead he started pacing the room and passing his hand over his shaved head over and over as the mauled over this problem.

"You're not telling me fucking everything Joe. Fucking spill it now!" Billy unexpectedly yelled at Joe.

Joe was surprised, his brother knew him well. Joe had not meant to hold back on Billy. He just knew his brother and that it was better to hand out the information to him almost as in 'capsules'. However, now it was time to reveal the worst. Billy seemed ready for it.

"Billy, Jules is deep in. They guys say she's been with Duke ever since yesterday afternoon. She spent the night at Duke's Armitage apartment and you know what that means. Duke just won't take anyone there. The guys and I are getting the sense she is in with Duke to do us."

Joe knew Billy was now in the ballistic zone. In one swing, Billy sent flying all the beer bottles that they had left on a table since last night. Next, he grabbed one of the chairs and slammed it to the wall. The second floor of 'The Office' had a long hallway and Billy walked away furiously in that direction.

Joe followed him but kept his distance. He understood that Billy needed time to react but he also knew he needed to keep an eye on him. Billy seemed to be deep in his thoughts again.

_Jules is with Duke, my number one enemy. How could I not see this coming? Fucking Trenor is probably making fun of me now along with fucking Jules. My fucking reputation is on the line for this conniving bitch. _

_All along I knew something was off with Jules. I felt she was holding back on me but I thought it was a control thing due to her her tough chick attitude trying to keep me at bay. I've been completely blind sided by pure lust. I can't believe my fucking stupidity but at the same time, nobody fucking messes with me like that. What I need to do is get myself fucking calm down and figure out what to do next._

Joe could only guess what was going on through his brother's head but then without warning, Billy was on the move. He was on the way to the supply room and Joe knew that was not a good thing. He better go and check what he was up to.

Joe saw Billy packing and loading more guns. Billy handed two guns to Joe.

"You said we're going to sit down and regroup to determine how we're gonna have her pay Billy."

The purpose of Joe's reminder was to see if he could slow things down. But being the hot head he was, Billy wasn't listening to Joe anymore. He had to see Jules and Duke in action with his own eyes and he quickly darted for downstairs.

"Billy, wait up!" Joe yelled at Billy as he saw his brother heading out of the building.

Joe took a short cut and was able to beat Billy to the car and stepped in front of the driver door.

"What are you doing man?"

"I'm going to stuff her and Duke in bullets," Billy responded angrily.

"Billy, you are in no condition to drive nor to go to Trenor's turf. If you go there like this, you will be spotted in seconds and you will be the one getting killed. Let me drive."

Billy's blood was boiling so bad at this point, he couldn't even speak up. He reluctantly threw the keys to Joe. They both got into the car and sped off.

Joe knew Trenor's men would recognize Billy's car so he parked the car on a side street and about a block away from Trenor's place. They had gotten there right on time because a few minutes later, he and Billy recognized Duke's black Porsche 911 pulling up. Jules was getting out of the car along with Duke. Duke's men were coming right behind them.

Jules was dressed very differently from her usual attire of jeans during her Rockside stay. Jules was wearing a very short halter dress that went along with Duke's clubby and flashy style. It's like she had transformed herself yet again. "Bitch!" Joe said to himself. Her supposed entanglement with Billy smelled more and more putrid by the second.

The action then unfolded in front of Billy and Joe's eyes: Billy's number one enemy and Jules were now embraced to one another as they walked up laughing to Duke's apartment building. Duke pulled her closer to him and kissed her passionately. He was really having his way with Jules. She was certainly corresponding to the intensity of his affection and was also all over him, even much more so than she did when she was with Billy a few days ago. Then, Duke picked her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist as they caressed and kissed each other, literally one step short of having sex out in public view.

The sight of this was really getting to Billy. _What a whore, what a fucking whore._ Billy felt his head was about to explode and he was just about to spit out fire at witnessing such exchange.

Billy pulled out and cocked his gun. Joe had anticipated his move. Before Billy opened the car door, Joe moved the car closer to a wall next to them to block Billy from opening the door.

"Billy, I will slam us into that house garage before I let you out of the car. We ain't dying for that whore," he warned his brother.

Billy was breathing out of control and his face looked as if a beast had been unleashed from within him.

"There are just two of us in here and Heco is in the other car. That's a guaranteed death sentence for us three! " Joe pointed out firmly.

Billy thought Joe was right; it's just not his ass here on the line here and that he needed to detach himself emotionally of this situation.

What was happening was beyond him and Jules; it was beyond his reputation and his crew. He had to carefully plan the next move. If an incident occurred, this could pit the Darley's against the Trenor's in a full out war and he was not going to let a stupid bitch put them through into something like that. Although he hated Duke, he knew well neither side needed or wanted a war as each crew had their established and profitable stomping grounds. He really had to calm himself down and think this through before starting any shit.

While the fury kept on storming inside of him, Billy heard the same phrase on playing on his head over and over:

_"I will get to you and I will kill you Jules."_

Chapter End Notes:

Any thoughts?? Guesses on what is going to happen? Please drop me a line, I love to hear from you!

_**Thanks for reading!**_

**_Coming Up Next:_**_ A raid and the unveiling of the full spectrum of motives._


	16. Chapter 17

**Chapter 16 – Time is of Essence (The Raid) **

_"Cause It's not my time, __  
__I'm not going __  
__There's a fear in me __  
__It's not showing __  
__This could be the end of me __  
__And everything I know __  
__Oh, but I won't go." _

_'It's Not My Time' – Three Doors Down_

Jules was making her way through the motel veranda. She needed an update to find out if anything peculiar happened or had any unwanted visitors during her absence.

Her "lookout" was the housekeeping supervisor and Jules sought her out before heading to her motel room.

The last two days had been a very busy one for Jules. She had spent both nights with Billy Darley's number one enemy: Duke Trenor. Jules had managed to capture his attention. It had been an interesting 48 hours to say the least and Jules felt very pleased with what she had accomplished.

Now, it was time to find out if she had managed to fool Billy. So far, she had every indication that everything was under control and working to plan.

Jules nodded at a uniformed woman and extended her a fifty dollar bill.

"No one has stepped into the room. However, I did see one vehicle drive by several times," the housekeeping supervisor said.

"Describe the car," Jules demanded. "It was a white van with no markings; the two men inside the cars had tattoos."

That's all that Jules needed to know: her cover had been blown.

She remained as poised as a garden statue and handed the woman another 20 dollar bill to secure more details: "When where they here and what have they done?" she pressed on.

"Last time they were here was about twenty minutes ago. It's been making the rounds every hour or so. Maria, one of the housekeepers, said they also talked to the guy in the front desk and threatened him," the woman explained.

Jules smiled at her as she didn't want to reveal her state of mind to her paid aid. "What did they say to him?"

"The wanted to know how many rooms you had, who had come to see you, who had called or visited you, if you had any messages, those kinds of things. The front desk guy doesn't know you but he told them what's on file. He also came to me asking me questions. The girls and I played dumb."

She extended the woman another fifty dollar bill and her truck keys.

"See that black pick up truck?" Jules grinned and pointed to her vehicle.

"You get to keep it if you move it a few blocks away but you have to do it right now though."

The woman smiled, took the money and got on her way.

Jules took her gun out, cocked it and headed to her motel room.

She slammed open her room door. It was obviously empty but she still surveyed the entire place. Everything seemed to be in the right place and the curtains were closed just like she left them. Then she wedged one of the chairs on the door handle and blocked the door with the rest of the movable pieces of furniture the room had.

Jules had switched motels again and had hoped not to be found for a few days. _Why wasn't her accomplice slowing Billy down?_ She looked at her watch. She had thirty minutes to work with at best.

Knowing that Billy's men were hot on her tail and now that she had all the information, she could not let another day go past without distributing the data. _It was time to take care of business._

Jules turned on her laptop on. Then, she headed for the door and sought out the room rate information card out that hung from the door pocket glued to the door. She lifted up card and behind it; she pulled a few disks she had hidden in there. Jules pulled out one more disk from her purse. The information on the disks was critical as they contained the accounting and tax evasion information. It should be more than enough to convict the big shark.

When she got into her email account, she began uploading the information from the disks. As Jules waited for this, she quickly located the email she had been composing for about the last week or so. She had to wrap it up and send separate emails along with the file attachments containing the tax evasion evidence. Two emails were intended to her police contact sent out to two email addresses. One was sent to a reporter for a major daily that she respected and that she knew would blow the lid of publicly regarding these assholes. Another email went to her accomplice so he would know she fulfilled her end of the bargain.

As Jules was composing a fourth email to her parents explaining the truth how Erik got killed, she got a new text message notification:

**"Get out. B is coming. U got 10 minutes."**

_Fucking Billy! _She hurried up her pace and added herself and a fifth recipient to the email she was already composing to her parents. This recipient was Lars, a trusted friend of Erik's who was also a lawyer and lived overseas. She and Lars had planned that he would be the back up if Jules didn't make it; he would carry on the torch to fulfill the revenge.

Jules put on her leather jacket on and stuffed her second gun along with additional ammo inside the jacket's pockets. She then grabbed her backpack, stuffed the 2 envelopes she needed to drop in the mail and the key for the storage place where she had been keeping her other guns. The last thing she placed in the backpack was a bag with the items she had subtracted from Billy's place: a couple of meth and weed bags with their signature mixes and one gun belonging to each Darley brother. Those would come handy to frame them in front of the Trenor crew and get the turf war brewing.

_It was time to act on her contingency plan._ Jules had anticipated a motel raid on her either by the Trenors or Darleys. She had paid the housekeeping supervisor big bucks to secure a master key to be able to access any of the motel rooms. She was particularly interested in accessing the room adjacent to hers and using it as an escape route to by herself some extra minutes. That connected room's door faced the other side of the motel.

Jules unlocked the door in between the two connecting rooms. Lucky enough, no one was currently occupying the adjacent room. She put her back pack on, grabbed her laptop with the disks and locked the door behind her. Like she did with the other room, she also pushed the dresser to block the door and closed the curtains.

Jules went back to the laptop and changed its password to a word that only her police contact would know and did a hard shut down of the computer. She then taped the original disks to the back of the laptop and hid it behind the fridge.

The roaring of the Mustang coming to a screeching halt, startled her and she could hear steps coming up the stairs to the second floor. Jules grabbed her motorcycle keys, walked up to the window and double-checked that the coast was clear on that other side of the motel. She put her helmet on and came out of the second room.

As she closed the door, she spotted the white van with Heco and Jamie entering the parking lot. Fortunately for her, they didn't recognize her with the helmet on and they veered to the opposite side of the motel where the Mustang was parked.

Jules was going down the stairs to the ground floor as she heard shots being fired. They were probably shooting at the lock to get in the room. Then, as she ran downstairs, Jules saw the black Mustang coming in her direction with Joe at the wheel._ Damn Joe, always on her friggin' tail!_

Jules kept on going down the stairs but the noise of someone trying to bust the connecting door open made her look up. _It must be Billy, Heco and Jamie._ When she turned to look back down, Joe had gotten out of the car and was quickly catching up to her.

Then, Joe actually aimed and took a shot at her. Jules was now on the ground floor and dodged the shot by running into a hallway.

"Billy, she's down here. She's getting away!" Joe yelled.

_This fucking kid is going to get it and bad_. Jules cocked her gun and held it out.

Joe cautiously headed straight for the hallway where Jules had run into.

Jules patiently waited for him around the corner. As soon as she saw two shaky hands stretched out and pointing a gun, it was time to bait him. The obvious dumb trick of throwing a rock in opposite direction should do it. _Yes, Joe fell for it. Sucker!_

Jules tripped him and Joe barely had time to react. Jules kicked him hard in the stomach, took his gun away and punched him hard on the face. _That should teach you a fucking lesson Joe Darley; you should not to stick your nose in other people's affairs. _Jules hit him in the head with the back of his own gun to make sure Joe was unconscious. 

Jules threw his gun away and then peaked into the hallway to see where everyone else was. The hallway was still clear but she could hear running steps coming down the stairs.

It was time to make a mad dash to her motorcycle and Jules ran for it. As she jumped on the bike and she put the keys on the ignition, she heard the noise of a cocked gun and a shot.

Billy was only 15 feet away pointed a gun at her and she hardly had time to react. As she tried to move away from the bullets' path, Jules saw smoke coming out of the gun.

_Shit! The son of a bitch just shot me. The bullet feels warm inside my body. Oh Billy, you will pay dearly for this. You are not going to ruin my plans, I will get to you._

"Your mom got healthy pretty damn fast Jules."

"Woa, people are going to think you are in love with me Billy, you are so demanding of me," Jules messed with him as she figured out how to get her gun out. 

"Get off the fucking bike!" Billy demanded as he kept the gun pointed at her.

"Come and make me baby," Julia dared him.

Billy was walking slowly to her. He didn't trust her at all so we was watching her every move. He thought Jules was acting cool as ice for someone just being shot.

"Spit out what are you cooking up with Duke before I shoot you in the stomach," he angrily yelled.

"No can do Billy. You and I are like the Army, we have that don't ask don't fucking tell policy."

"Julia McFindlay, this is your second fucking warning," Billy pressed on.

_He knew her real name. She had been finally found out. _

"I told you this was _my_ business of which you need to stay out off," she answered calmly but angrily. "I gave you several warnings Darley: I told you I was bad, that you needed to be careful and I even warned you about getting hurt if you didn't step away from this shit. But you didn't want to listen baby cakes so don't fucking blame me for this little mess."

"I have a fairly uneasy feeling from seeing you go straight from my bed into the one of my number one enemy."

"I want payback for what was taken from me, my life and my man. I know you didn't kill Erik so it's in your best fucking interest to lay off my problem and pretend nothing ever happened between us. If you don't, I swear to you that I will convince Duke that you have purposely crossed boundaries with the goal of taking over Mission Hill. We'll see what happens then when a pissed off Duke with far more men and resources than you have, gets all over your ass!" she threatened him.

Although he had a controlled reaction, Billy's eyes widened which signaled to her he was surprised about she had just revealed to him.

At that precise moment and almost next to Billy, a random motel patron opened up his door room.

Looking at Billy armed; the man immediately went back inside of his room out of fear.

Jules used the distraction to pull out her gun.

With Jules gun in hand now, Billy knew the stakes of the game had changed.

"If you were after Trenor, you knew damn well we could have worked something out Jules," Billy said clearly changing his tone and strategy towards her.

At that moment, Jules saw Jamie cautiously taking steps behind Billy gun on hand. _Shit! She better get ready._ Her immediate reaction was to start her motorcycle and revved up the engine.

"I don't care! I'm doing this my way and you will not fuck this up for me Darley!" she yelled at him.

Billy heard a noise coming from behind him and before he had a chance to turn around, Jamie hit him hard on the neck with his gun.

As their eyes met, Jamie and Jules both stood pointing their guns at each other as if this was a showdown. Jules was the first one to make move.

She led a wide out smile at Jamie and he walked up to hug her. As they embraced, Jamie held her a little too tight and Jules tried to hide the pain from her wound but Jamie smelled the blood right away.

"Wow, did he get you?"

"No, the bullet just grazed me," she said lying. _Time was of essence_.

"It took you a fucking while!' Jules complained changing the subject. "Where is Heco?"

"I knocked him out and made sure Joe stayed out. Poor kid, we've beaten him pretty hard."

"That nosy fuckwit deserves it. Thanks for the warning Jamie."

"It's what we agreed Jules. So, did you get it done?".

"We did it Sweetie. I've sent all the emails!" she stated proudly and extended her good arm out to high five her accomplice. "It's just a matter of time now. I didn't find anything concrete on Bones. I'm sorry but you knew he was not my top priority."

"Jules, you do know that Billy and the gang had nothing to do with Erik's murder?"

"I do but I still harbor feelings of resentment. _In addition to the drugs thing, I am now bitter at fucking Alpha Dog for having shot and wounded me._ You all made sure to keep him coming back for more."

Jamie held Jules hands out and spoke very softly to try to put things in perspective for her.

"I'm sorry to tell you this and you know Erik was my buddy but he shares the blame with us for his addiction. I think you know this deep down Jules. It's time to let bygones be bygones."

Jules didn't want to get into it with Jamie and he sensed it. Jules put her arms over his shoulders to get his full attention, she needed to vent to someone regarding the hell she had been in the last two days.

"Jamie, last night was so hard," she said holding back tears. "I had to sit through an entire conversation where Duke and his men were bragging about how they took Erik down to save his Dad's ass. It was sickening and I almost lost it. But since I had to go back to the apartment to copy the other disks, I had to suck it up."

Jamie gave Jules a hug and she rested her head on his shoulder as she cried. _Revenge was ruthless business indeed_. At that moment, they both noticed that Billy began stirring.

"Blame it on the old man and a bat, okay Sweetie?" Jules said.

Jamie nodded at Jules and turned around so she could hit him in the head with the back of her gun. Jamie fell on the floor unconscious. It was their agreed upon cover up scheme.

Jules couldn't believe her and Jamie's timing, the red Plymouth Duster was entering the parking lot with Spink and Bodie on the wheel and they were speeding up towards them.

Billy was also waking up now and Jules wanted to shoot him. But as she saw the car nearing them with Spink sticking his head out of the window gun in hand, she had to flee. He was not her primary target and was she unwilling to jeopardize her chance to take down Duke.

Jules gave Billy one last warning: "Darley, remember what I told you. Back off or I'll come back to kill you."

Jules didn't waste a second and sped off on the motorcycle, as she heard shots being fired at her.

Jules headed to the main road and as she raced through the lanes, she looked through the back mirrors.

The coast was clear. However, a few minutes later she saw the black Mustang and the red Plymouth Duster reflected on her rear view mirror. _Damn it! Why did that man had to be so damn stubborn?_

_The interstate!_ She sped through lanes as fast as she could. Panic began hitting Jules. She was trying to loose Bodie and Billy but couldn't shake them off. The bullet had cooled off in her body now and she could feel the pain. This also gave her some difficulties in steering but she needed to keep on going. Then, it hit her. _She could still loose them._

She quickly veered into the express lanes and took the next immediate exit. She knew that if she took the local roads to Madison Ave, she could jump there to I-288 to Cambridge. If she succeeded, they would never catch up with her again.

As she exited the interstate ramp, Jules drove to the area where she grew up: Cambridge.

She began seeking the post office and when she found it, she pulled out two envelopes from her backpack and made her drop. One envelope was to her police contact and the other had an anonymous parcel to her parents. They contained copies of everything she had unveiled in case the email failed.

She squeezed her hand inside her jacket to check on her wound, her hand came out red. _Fucking Billy Darley_!

Jules drove pass this frozen custard place that used to be her favorite and she remembered it had a hidden back lot. She needed a few minutes in peace to make an important call without fear of being busted. The back lot was the perfect spot as it offered her a few minutes to catch up her breath and regroup without being seen. With her being hurt, her plan for that afternoon had to change.

_With this wound, I don't have the luxury to sugar up anyone now. I don't think I'm going to make it in the end but I am going to finish this job. I can and will do it. _

Jules dialed up the number and her hands were shaking out of stress she had suffered from being raided, being shot at and car chased.

The phone was ringing and ringing and Jules began getting anxious.

"Hello?"

"It's me," Jules said trying to compose herself.

"_Julie girl_?"

"I don't have much time! Darley is after me," she said anxiously. "I've sent the emails and mailed the packages like you asked me to. The laptop is exactly in the location we discussed. I'm counting on you to end the job. If you don't, I'll come back from the dead to hunt you down."

"You know I'll go after him, do not doubt it. Julia, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," she lied.

"Thank goodness, the motel raid was announced through the scanner and they mentioned shots were heard. I was worried for you. Unfortunately, it was also broadcasted that Darley was suspected to be involved and that info would get certain people's attention. Knowing that, are you still carrying your plans for later today?" the voice asked.

"I don't care if my cover is blown; I'm still going after Duke."

"Julia, stop and reconsider. Where are you?"

"I'm in Cambridge but I'm heading out to Pennington Cemetery."

"Why are you going there?"

"It's the only place where I can calm down. No one will find me there."

_I will not make it out alive from the lion's den; I want to say good-bye to Erik. _

"I think your plans for this afternoon are too risky given what just happened at the motel. C'mon Julia, just come in. Let the Trenors go, I'll take it from here, we have them already."

_Easy for you to say. You haven't lost your reason to live. _

"You can say that because you don't know the disgusting things I had to do and had put up within the last two days to get him… to get the info," Julia said completely breaking down sobbing.

The weight of her vengeance was crashing down hard on her shoulders at that very moment.

"Jules, you need to calm down!"

"NO! Don't tell me what to do, you don't know anything! You are clueless to where and to the extend I had to go to accomplish this. I can't hardly live with myself for doing it," Julia explained finally relieved to speak out her real emotions.

"That's more than enough reason for you to stop now. Do it while you still can Julia."

_You will never get how the burden of doing something like this inflicts in one's soul. Plus, pain and anger want blood, more blood._

Jules ignored the request and felt she needed to get more stuff out of her chest.

"Duke bragged about what he did to Erik, how much he despised him and I had stay mum. It just about killed me but it unleashed the monster inside of me. I can't stop because I crave his blood! I shall look at him in the eye when he dies, even if it's the very last thing I do!"

There was a pause on the line.

Jules took the moment to compose herself as she felt that 'the voice' was thinking.

"I won't ever understand it but there is good in you Julia, I know it. I remember the old Julia and she is there inside of you somewhere. You're in so much pain that you can't see straight but your sacrifice is what is going to make these assholes pay. I shouldn't have put you through this, you've been too deep for too long. Now, let me help you. I'll send you some of my undercover men, the ones that I trust."

Jules thought about it for a second. _It was easier to agree than to keep arguing. Time was of essence. _

Jules wiped off her tears and spoke again with confidence, like she had never had a meltdown: "I want Garcia and Williams, I know them. Send the other men to slow down Darley, he's on my ass. Make sure you tell them to stop any contact the SOB may have with Duke. Don't announce this over the scanner or in front of others. Make them keep their distance; Duke has people everywhere."

"Does your inside man need protection?"

"I knocked him down unconscious. Hopefully that will remove any suspicions away from him. He knows to come to you if he needs help."

"Are you still pitting the two gangs against each other?" the voice wanted to know.

Jules stayed silent thinking.

_Hell yes! She was pitting Darleys against Trenors. Billy, having shot her, was back on her shit list. Fucking Jamie, she should have killed Billy when she had planned on doing it. Well, her own entanglement with Billy had soften her stance on him as well but that was done and over with. She was going to get Billy were it will hurt him the most: she was going to frame Joe Darley right on Trenor turf. _

As Jules was about to respond, the voice interrupted her: "_Julie girl_, get going! My informant just texted me Darley's whereabouts. He's roaming around Cambridge!"

Jules knew she was running out of time. She had some 'set up' work to do in Mission Hill right after the cemetery visit and before she sought out Duke. If she was going down, she planned on taking all of those fucking gangbangers down with her. Framing Joe Darley, would give her some insurance that she would get a piece of both Duke and Billy in case she got killed before completing her plan. The motto rang true once again: _it's always been the means to the end_. 

Notes:

_**So what do you think it's gonna happen to Jules? Did you had any idea of who was the accomplice?**_

**_Should Jules let bygones be bygones?_**

**_Coming Up: How Jules Unveiled the last pieces of the puzzles - Billy is not backing down._**


	17. Chapter 18

**Chapter 17 – The Cemetery Stop**

_"And still I have the pain I have to carry__  
__A past so deep that even you could not bury if you tried__  
__….__  
__But I couldn't make you see it__  
__Couldn't make you see it__  
__That I loved you more than you'll ever know__  
__A part of me died when I let you go."_

_"Blind" - Lifehouse_

Jules parked her motorcycle. Being shot by and being chased by Billy Darley, left her in a stressed out mode and her hands and legs were shaking. However, she felt she was safe at her destination: Pennington Cemetery.

Jules wasn't sure if she would make it alive out of this ordeal but she wanted to say good bye to Erik. Being there and near his resting place, triggered so many memories of a life that had died with him.

_Julia and Erik meet when she was a sophomore in college and while he attended law school. From the moment they met, Julia and Erik became inseparable. In spite of their different lives and personalities, they complimented each other real well. Erik was extremely extroverted and one to make friends easily. Julia was far more reserved and introspective than Erik was but had a knack for grasping people and situations beyond what met the eye._

_Since Julia hadn't finished college by the time Erik graduated, he decided to stay in Boston to be with her and accepted to work for a private law firm downtown. Julia moved in with Erik and upon graduation, she took a financial analyst position with an international bank. _

_Next, Erik was promoted to partner at the law firm. Although a true sign of success, this achievement was the beginning of many problems._

_When it just happened, Julia had been so proud of him. He was such a young partner and it was quite a feat to have gotten the promotion in only four years. What she couldn't foresee was the stress that came with this responsibility._

_Erik was a very competitive person and the pressure from the workload and expectations that the senior partners laid out on him was sometimes too much and it got to him. In those instances, he would turn to drugs to blow off some steam. Julia was not thrilled about it but Erik promised her he would get help if it ever got out control. _

_After Erik was murdered, nothing felt the same for Julia. _

_She blamed herself a million times over for not putting her foot down on Erik's vice. Guilt was eating her up for not being more firm with him. If they had gone straight home, Erik would probably be alive today. The only reason why she had turned her cheek the other way regarding his drug intake it was because it seemed to be an occasional thing and because he was enduring quite a bit of stress at work. However, in the last few months she was noticing that it was becoming more and more recurrent. _

_With each passing day, the attacker's words continued to hunt her, someone had ordered to kill Erik. As Julia faded into being merely a mask and lacked a reason to live, her new identity as Jules gained strength and was very much alive. She became obsessed with one thought only: finding the bastards who had destroyed her life and kill her man. _

_Jules, under the guise of Julia, pressed for answers. Detective Silver was certain that the Darley's had been behind the killing. _

_Jules didn't know what the motive was but the relationship was there. So, that was a start. She was going to find out why the Darleys killed Erik. _

_She also decided to check Darley's rivals, the Trenors, to see what opportunities that could open up to her. Perhaps she could set up a mutually benefiting alliance with them to finish off the Darleys or to find a way to set up the Darleys so the Trenors would go after them. _

_Trenor turf was Mission Hill and Jules began to study them as well. Her starting point was a visit to their unofficial headquarters: The Metro Club. Duke and his boys acted like they literally owned the place. _

_Duke Trenor was a good looking man. Unlike Billy Darley, who looked like a thug and a skinhead, Duke looked sophisticated. He was an extreme sharp dresser and was very flashy. Duke could look the part of a club owner, a professional athlete or even a sports or entertainment agent. _

_In spite of their differences, Jules quickly identified that Billy and Duke shared some key common traits: they were ego-maniacs, drinkers, playboys and cold-blooded killers. _

_Since her shoulder was still healing from the attack and she was a one-person show, Jules decided to focus her time in identifying which of the Darley men took part in the attack. Until she got her body back to 100% mobility, her plan was to methodically wipe them off one by one. She was sure that it would drive Billy Darley insane to have some of his men murdered without explanation._

_Except for her attacker, the men kept their face masks on during most of the attack so she couldn't relay on memory to identify them. Jules decided to go back to more specific details: the peculiar tattoos they had._

_After following and studying the Darley crew, Jules noticed that their tattoos didn't match the art of the two men she remembered from the attack. Jules considered this very odd; Silver should have known this._

_From the night Erik was killed, she recalled two distinctive tattoos on two of the men: one was a skull surrounded by a wreath of roses and then, the same skull with a crown of thorns that wrapped around the man's arm. The first tattoo corresponded to her attempted rapist and the second one had been Erik's shooter. None of Darley's men had visible skull tattoos._

_One night, while continuing her research at The Metro, Jules was shocked to make a discovery. She spotted a familiar tattoo. _

_It was an exact match to Erik's shooter and she could hardly control herself; she was not going to let that asshole live another day. Jules felt her blood boiling but she forced herself to think. First, she had to bait the motherfucker._

_Luckily for her, she was wearing one of her disguises and had opted to dress that night in a rather provocative way so it was not hard to attract her prey. _

_Once she had him, Jules wanted to pull out of him the rationale behind the orders to kill Erik. So, to encourage his collaboration, Jules shot him in the foot. The pathetic coward quickly spit out that Erik appeared to be on track to win a case that would have ruined Trenor's dad legal businesses and gotten him in jail. _

_After he finished filling her in, Jules felt her rage explode out of control and without thought or hesitation, she shot him in the head. _

_Erik's shooter was her first kill ever and it was a traumatic experience for her. However, Jules knew she had another man to find and this murder only fed her thirst for vengeance._

_Jules had kept all of Erik's work papers in storage. After reviewing them and doing some fact checking with Erik's former assistant, she concluded it all tied in. _

_She now knew for sure it was Duke who had ordered to have Erik killed._

_This important finding served to fuel her determination and she set forth to check out every single one of Trenor's men. They all had the skull tattoos indeed but in different places and with slightly different designs. _

_One night when Jules was out prowling, she headed to a divvy bar that the Trenor's men frequented. It let her to find her attempted rapist. The type and location of the tattoo matched perfectly. He was drunk as a skunk and didn't recognize her. Jules patiently waited for the right moment to strike. _

_When the sexual pervert stepped out to go to the bathroom, she noticed the hallway was deserted. She quietly followed him, making sure she was undetected. The hallway was indeed empty and it was a quick kill. _

_There was a third man that took part on the attack but she didn't get to see well his tattoos. That bastard was not going to be off the hook as she planned on taking down the entire crew. _

_However, after her murderous spree, Jules found out the hard way that killing came with a huge price: she began having constant nightmares. _

_Almost every night, Jules could hear the men's voices begging for her not to kill them and she replayed in her mind what she had done in real life: she had killed them like they were dogs. _

As she walked in the cemetery, Jules was sweating profusely. It was time to do something about her wound; the bleeding was definitely weakening her. She opened up the bag from the purchase she had just made at a pharmacy. She took out a water bottle and took two painkillers.

Jules continued following a path that she knew by heart. She didn't stop until she found the spot she was looking for.

The tombstone said it all:

_Erik Brenner Abney __  
__Beloved son and brother__  
__Julia, my angel, my love for you will live on forever.__  
__1981- 2008_

Jules kneeled down, touched her lips and immediately placed her fingers on the tombstone.

Looking at Erik's picture that was engraved on the gravestone, it made her break down and cry hard. She still missed Erik like crazy and felt lost with out him.

Jules was exhausted; the last three days while on Trenor turf had actually been the longest days of her entire life.

Ever since she had begun carrying out the last stage of her plan, she had slept a grand total of eight hours. Being deep and undercover with the untrusting Trenors had been completely draining and she had been on the edge through that entire time.

Jules thought with bitterness that in exactly seven days, her wedding to Erik was supposed to be take place. That had been her self-imposed deadline to fulfill her revenge.

Jules checked her surroundings and the cemetery looked deserted. She put her gun on the ground right next to where she was kneeling. She was pressed for time and she needed to wrap up her wound so she could get going.

Removing her jacket off took effort as well as unbuttoning and removing the left side of her shirt. Once again, she had been hit close to the shoulder and as she examined her gunshot, she realized there was no way she could take the bullet out.

There was a retired military medic that could help her but she didn't have time to go to him now. That would have to wait. It was time to patch herself up, say goodbye to Erik and re-think her plans.

When Jules began dosing her wound with rubbing alcohol, she held on to her tears as the painful burning sensation slowly went away.

Jules extracted some bandages from the bag and began covering and wrapping her wound. As she did this, she began re-crafting her plan. Her original plans were to take down Duke and as many of his men when they played poker at Duke's place that evening.

**Duke Trenor -** It had been so hard to fake interest on this man. Duke was all about Duke. The whole thing had been a damn near repulsive situation to her.

But now she was positive that her cover had been blown by the Darley raid so she would have to take them out as they ate at this restaurant later this afternoon. Duke had a deal there that he could not back down from and that worked to her advantage. She expected him to have additional security with him but she was familiar with the place and thought of the potential places she could hide.

Either way, she planned on using the weapons she bought from Billy. She was still amazed at the beautiful irony of it all, killing Duke with the guns purchased from his number one enemy.

Jules was saving the semi-automatic for this day and especially for Duke who was going to be her first and main target. She knew the third attacker was still around but she didn't know who it was. So if she got anyone else, that would just be a bonus in her mind.

**Duke Trenor Sr., a.k.a the Big Shark** - He was not high on her shooting priority list as she had already taken care of him with the various emails she had sent this morning. She agreed with the saying that there were two things certain in life, death and paying taxes. Mr. Big Shark had not reported a significant part of his income for years and Jules was sure he would not be able to get out of tax evasion charges. She didn't get a chance to look at all the information on the disks but she was positive it could yield something on Duke as well in case she didn't get to kill him. If they got to her first, she expected both Trenors to be prison bitches.

After today, she knew nothing would be left of the Trenor "dynasty" and those thoughts made her intensely happy.

**Billy Darley -** She was concerned he would ruin it all for her.

The reality of it all was that Jules had not expected to get entangled with anyone but especially him. That was a risk she should have never taken.

She fooled herself thinking that because she was tough, she could handle it. However, with Billy being Trenor's main enemy, Duke could have had someone spying on him and that person could have recognized her and bust her out in the open.

In addition to this, Billy was a hot head and he could have gone to Duke to sell her out and make a deal with him to avoid a turf war.

She had been so infatuated with lust for Billy that she had purposely ignored that fact.

The sad truth is that she completely underestimated Darley. As soon as he figured he wasn't controlling her, she should have expected Billy to want to rein her in. She knew he didn't love her but that he was infatuated with the chemistry they had just like she was. She could go on and on with excuses but in the end she had to be angry at herself for putting her own needs as a woman before her plans.

After getting rid of her bloodied clothes, the next thing on her to-do list for this afternoon was to plant the Darley drugs in Mission Hill, shoot one of Trenor's men with Joe Darley's gun and leave the weapon behind to ignite the gang war.

**Erik, the love of her life** **-** Thinking of how and why his life was cut short, gave her the strength and determination to continue. Erik wouldn't approve of what she was doing but she knew he would be proud that she had grown stronger and tougher. Deep down, she believed that her love for him was the only noble feeling left in her heart.

**Time To Go.** Jules wiped off her tears got up. She took the next few minutes to rethink some additional details about her plans.

Given that she was a one-woman show, things looked quite challenging given the current state of things. Unless she……

Her thoughts got interrupted when she detected two familiar scents near by. The smell of cologne and cigarettes alerted her that someone was standing behind her. Jules now heard the noise of gun safety locks being removed and a few guns cocked.

Chapter End Notes:

_**So, who do you think found Jules? Do you have any predictions of what is about to happen? **_

_**Please review and thanks for reading!**_

_**Ending Countdown: 3 Chapters.**_


	18. Chapter 19

**Chapter 18 – Blood**

_"The colour of your blood from your open body __  
__Is all I wanted to see __  
__Tasting the blood from your lips as you die __  
__Means satisfaction to me __  
__Pleasure to kill"__  
__"Pleasure to Kill" - Kreator_

Jules' heart started beating at an accelerated rate because she recognized the scent of the cologne.

_Shit! How did he find me here?_

She was about to turn when he yelled at her:

"Put your fucking hands up and slowly turn around. If you try anything, we'll stuff you in bullets Jules."

She complied. Based on all the noise of the cocked guns that she had heard a few minutes ago, Julia knew she was badly outnumbered and outgunned.

"Where are your fucking guns?"

She pointed to her jacket and to the gun on the ground.

The man motioned to two men of the three men that accompanied him to search her.

_There is Williams and where's Garcia? Perhaps they had gone now undercover and she could still get out of his jam_.

Williams grabbed the gun she had left on the ground first and then searched her. He passed to the other man the two guns that he found.

"Jules, don't waste your time looking for Garcia, he no longer exists," Duke responded unfazed. "Now that we know you're the mole, we're also taking down your police buddy next."

_Fucking great, Williams was another dirty cop. Duke truly had people everywhere. She really was on her own._

Jules was stunned; she had clearly underestimated Duke's resources and the size of his network including being infiltrated with the undercover unit.

"You're going to need more than that to stop the inevitable Duke," Jules said sternly.

"And you almost had me fooled Jules. So, what was the deal with you and Darley this morning?"

"I'm hot and heavy into criminals now. The good guys die on me," she responded sarcastically.

Duke looked at her in a taunting manner. Then, he walked up to Erik's tombstone and spit on it. Then, he calmly placed his handmade Italian leather shoe right over Erik's picture.

"So this pathetic idiot was your fiancée?" he asked. "I take it that you want to get even with me. Did you really think you were going to get away with this?"

Jules gave him a look that was filled with hatred. _Arrogant son of a bitch!_

"Well Jules, my boys did kill your precious Erik. I could not allow him win that case against my father. Truth is, Erik never had a chance," he explained with a smirk.

_Duke had no idea of the weight he had lifted off her shoulders. Now, she knew there was nothing she could have done to save Erik. _

"It was a matter of time for me to recognize you Julia McFindlay, you can't outsmart me. I'm not such as dumbass as Darley. It really was an easy trap to set up for Erik and on top of that; I could also set up Darleys' crew as suspects..."

Jules wanted to laugh hard at him; he didn't even realize she wasn't even paying attention to him. But she wasn't feeling her best, she was weakened by the blood loss although determined not to back down.

"…….when we started harassing him, I knew Erik was weak, couldn't take the pressure and would turn to get high. Now tell me, am I correct to assume that you took down Georgie and Steve?"

Hearing Erik's name snapped her out of her thoughts and Duke's comment just managed to piss her off some more.

"You are not even half of the man that Erik was!" she barked at him.

Duke look at her with anger and slapped her violently as she landed on the floor.

He pulled her from her hair to have her stand up next to him. Julia bit her lip to avoid screaming in pain.

"Guess what? Since you love Erik so much, I'm shipping you off to meet him today. But before that I need you to answer some fucking questions. If you do that truthfully, I promise to kill you quickly. Ready?" he finally let her go.

"Are you in with the Darleys on this?"

"No, it's just me."

"You expect me to believe that don't you whore! Who are you fucking working for?"

"Three parties: Me, myself and I."

He slapped her again. Jules landed on the side of her gunshot wound and she curled up screaming in pain for a while.

"Did you hear anything I said to you slut? You will start to tell me the fucking truth. The longer you take to talk, the longer you are going to suffer."

With the pain subsiding a little, Jules now felt blood to the side of her mouth. She stayed laying on the ground and tried to suppress the thoughts that this may very well be the end for her.

Since she didn't get up, he kicked her on the stomach and Jules twitched more of pain. _How much lower could he get on the cowardice scale?_ Now she felt even more rage at Duke.

"I've been tracking you for months and you were clueless!" she yelled at him staying on the ground. "When I took your two men down, you had no idea who'd done it. I want your head next you son of a bitch!

Duke Trenor started laughing hysterically.

"Sure you do," Duke said arrogantly. "It's rather obvious that you don't have the upper hand here Jules.

His companions laughed at her too.

"Why didn't you kill me last night or the night before? I've been fucking you for the last two days. You had plenty of time to do me in. Perhaps you were having too much fun with me Jules? "

_The fucker has no clue on me copying the disks._

"I had bigger plans," Jules explained curling up a big smile.

"Really? Why don't you tell me then about that scene you had with Darley earlier today? I mean, you went from being with an idealist fool to a wanna-be loser gang lord and you…well, you're just one fucking clueless whore!"

Her anger for Duke was too much to hold back. _It was time to press some hard core buttons._

"And you, you were just a job that I had to do! I was with Darley because I wanted to, because I can't have enough of him," she gave him a condescending smirk. "Duke, you weren't big enough for me to even feel you inside!"

Duke thought that this fucking woman was so gonna pay for disrespecting him like that. He would see it until the end that the worthless slut was finished.

He furiously jumped on her on the ground and punched her hard. His right hand was going up on her neck strangling her. They were both wrestling on the floor and Duke was on top of her.

Being wounded, Jules did not think she could fend him off for long. Her shoulder was hurting like hell.

She thought this had to be it. She sneaked out her concealed knife, pressed on the knife lever and stuck hard the blade on Duke's stomach.

"Erik, this is for you!" Jules said.

As his eyes widened in shock, she pushed the blade up and down as hard as she could. Jules had her eyes locked on his and she saw the fear in his eyes.

Jules knew that Duke was finished and that he knew it. _She did it: she had finally avenged Erik! _

His men got suspicious as Duke's hands had released her grip and they got their guns out. They couldn't tell she had stabbed Duke because they were standing behind him. The blood could not been seen from that angle.

As the tallest of the Duke's men was about to shoot her, Jules heard shots fired. Next thing she knew, the tall man had been shot down. The other two men duck for cover.

Unexpectedly, Jules heard more shooting and she was trapped under Duke's body in the middle of the gun fire.

A few seconds later, Duke's men tried killing her again and started firing at her. Jules quickly turn Duke's body and shielded herself with him.

When she expected the worse, she open up her eyes and one more of Duke's thug now lay dead on the floor.

_Who else was involved in this shoot out?_

The shooting continued and Jules could see that Williams was the only man standing and he was reloading his gun. He started going back and forth from shooting at her and shooting towards the wooded area.

Jules looked around and with the shooting there was no way she could make it safe to cover. It was impossible for her to take a good look who was all involved. The pain from her wound was now really getting at her.

She still held on to Duke's body and plan on continuing to use it as her shield until she found a window to move for cover. Duke was dead now as he had been shot twice on the side and the back. His blood was all over her.

As Williams shot his gun at her again, she felt a burning sting on her leg. _Son of a bitch! _Jules screamed at feeling another bullet in her body. Jules noticed that Duke had a holster with a gun to his side. As she tried to pull the gun out to defend herself, she saw Williams getting shot and killed.

The shooting had now stopped. Smoke was everywhere. Jules was relieved but tense. She could not see who and how many people had been involved and who was left standing.

Jules felt drained but when she heard steps coming closer and closer to her, her survival instincts kicked it. With two gunshot wounds and all the blood she had been loosing, she couldn't go far. It was time to secure a weapon. Since she wasn't able to take out Duke's gun, she concentrated on pulling the knife out of Duke. She held the bloodied blade close to her. It was also time to play dead.

All of the sudden, she felt a shadow towering over her and felt Duke's body being pulled off her.

"Jules, fuck….Jules, talk to me!"

She recognized the deep husky voice. It was Billy and she opened up her eyes.

She could see him looking at her worried.

"Jules, where did you get shot? You need to tell me."

Jules felt weakened, she had lost a lot of blood since the morning. She was also in pain.

Billy sounded seriously concerned about her as he began lifting her off the floor. She tried pointing for him but gave up, she didn't have the energy to do it. She had run out of adrenalin and the struggle with Duke had taken out the life force out of her. To make matters worse, the smell of blood, guts and gunpowder was making her sick.

"Jules, we're going to get you out of here," Billy explained. When her shot leg got pressed in between his arms, she let out a cry.

"Bodie bring the fucking car," Billy ordered. "I don't know if she's going to fucking make it, we gotta drop her at the hospital right now!"

Sirens could be heard from the distance. As Billy carried her away, Jules tried to keep her eyes open but she couldn't.

"Babe, try to keep your eyes open!" Billy ordered her.

Jules tried to smile for Billy. She appreciated what he was trying to do but truth was, she didn't care what happened to her anymore. Fulfilling her revenge was not bringing back her will to live. It wasn't bringing Erik back either and now that she had fulfilled her mission, she didn't have any other reasons to live.

"Jules, don't you quit now! You need to stay the fuck awake!" he screamed at her. "Don't you dare quit on me!"

All of the sudden, she felt cold, very cold. Billy's voice got fainter and fainter.

Jules felt as if she was surrounded by darkness except for the one light. It was weird because she finally felt stillness and serenity. The light got brighter and brighter. She could see Erik now waiting for her and she felt excited. Jules heart filled with warmness. This was the first time in nearly a year that she felt joy and peace.

Chapter End Notes:

_**So you guys have now dusted off the gun powder and wiped off the blood? **_

_**Were you surprised at the turn of events? Any predicitons?**_

_**Thanks for reading and please drop me a note to see how you like this so far. I appreciate you guys reading per the read count but a **__**little love**__** will be nice too ;-P!**_

_**Ending Countdown Update: we're still at 3 chapters. I'm writing the ending and I'm 98% sure that I will have to split the last chapter in two.**_


	19. Chapter 9

**Chapter 19 – A Silver Lining?**

"_Some day I'm gonna find it _

_Wish I knew what I was looking for inside the disarray_

_I woke up this morning _

_Don't know where I'm going but it's Alright _

_I wouldn't have it any other way"_

"Disarray" - Lifehouse

"_Julia, are you okay?" Erik asked._

"_I am now," Jules responded._

_He gently caressed her face and as his other arm wrapped around her waist._

"_You have been very brave my angel," Erik pointed out proudly._

_Julia smiled, she missed hearing him call her by the pet name he had given her. _

"_Erik, I tried to be. I had to do this for us. Those men had to pay for destroying our lives."_

"_I understand. I've been keeping an eye on you. So, what are you going to do now?" Erik asked._

"_I'm done and I've come home to you," Julia replied happy._

"_I'm excited to have you with me once again but your time has yet to come baby," he said sadly._

"_What? But…why not? We're here together now!" she complained._

"_You have always meant everything to me and I hate to let you go but you have to go back Julia."_

"_Don't say that Erik! This is what I want, I want to stay here with you!" she held on tight to him as if she wasn't going to ever let him go. "I don't have a reason to go back."_

"_Julia, don't fight this! You still have things left to do, you just haven't figured it out yet," Erik explained._

_She wasn't swayed by his explanation and Erik knew it. He lifted up her chin so she would look him in the eye. His demeanor had now turned serious._

"_Trust me on this please. You need to live your life to the fullest. Since I can't do it anymore, Julia you have to do it for the both of us and please… make it count." _

_Julia gave him a sad a bitter look._

"_When your time comes, I will be here waiting for you. I'll be watching your every step my angel," Erik urged her as he kissed her._

"Erik!"

Jules woke up screaming.

She found herself sitting up in a bed drenched in sweat. She felt confused and in pain.

_What happened? Was that a dream or was she really with Erik? _

Jules lay back down on the bed. _I could feel Erik with me. _She touched her lips and closed her eyes. _It all felt so real: his touch, his embrace, his kiss. _She was devastated in knowing that whatever moment she had with him, real or imagined, was gone.

A lone tear slowly travelled down her cheek. _I miss him so much. _All she could think off is that she wanted to go back to wherever she had been with him.

Jules bitterly thought about how unfair life could be; she should be with Erik. _What the hell was she doing alive? She was indeed tired of living, breathing….but he wanted her to go on. For what? _With her mission fulfilled, she really felt her purpose in life was now non-existent.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain on her shoulder. She heard the beeping sounds of equipment and smelled the scent that she had come to hate: the sanitized smell of health care institutions.

Jules had been so wrapped up in her troubled emotions that she hadn't even really considered where she was. Now that she looked at her surroundings, she found herself alone in a standard hospital room. Her leg and shoulder were both hurting big time. She also had wires and needles hooked up in several places.

_I remember now: the shootout at Pennington Cemetery. _

She touched her shoulder and she could feel it: gun shot number one. Next, she lifted the sheets and saw the bandages on her leg: gun shot number two_. _

_That damn Alpha Dog had to shoot me along with that fucking rat Williams. I hope that killing Duke wasn't a dream. I have to find out what really happened. If he's not dead, I may have to get out of here and fast._

A nurse unexpectedly popped her head in the room.

"You have a visitor miss; your friend came to check on you. I'll bring him over," she announced.

_I shouldn't have any visitors. Who is she bringing in? I don't have any weapons to defend myself. Wait!_

"Nurse! Hold on Miss!" Jules tried to get her attention to no luck.

Jules noticed there seemed to be quite a bit of movement outside her room and another nurse stared at her from the hallway. The nurse appeared to be talking to a tall man in a leather jacket.

_Is that Billy? I do remember him pushing Duke's body off me. Did he carried me off at some point or did I imagine that?_

The tall man walked into the room.

"How are you feeling Julia?"

"I just woke up, why am I here?" she asked feigning ignorance.

"Well, you've been in and out for the last 2 days."

_Had she really been out that long?_

"Julia, lemme tell ya, you're a hell of a lucky woman! You were shot and bleeding like crazy and some Good Samaritan took pity on you and dropped you off here at the hospital."

Jules instantly got the sarcastic tone in the man's voice. He was not a person that Jules cared to see but somehow Detective Joel Silver had found his way to her.

"It must be my guardian angel. You know, Saint Erik?" she replied equaling the man's sarcasm.

Silver brushed off her comment and continued speaking: "Did you know that you were clinically dead for a minute or two? They got great doctors here and they managed to save you."

_Those doctors should have let me go._

"After I heard that Trenor had been found dead by Erik's tombstone and with evidence of a shoot out, I just had that hunch that I would find you in a hospital bed Julia," Silver said. "Sure enough, you popped up in here. What can your remember?"

Jules knew she had the upper hand in this conversation and purposely asked him a question to change the topic.

"Did you call my family?"

"No Julia, I was waiting to talk to you first."

"Don't call them! Has my name made it or will it make it to the papers?

"Not at the moment."

"Are you here to arrest me Silver?"

"Are you interrogating me Julia?" Silver sought to regain control of the conversation. "So, does that mean you are confessing to the murder of Duke Trenor?"

_The asshole is dead. YES! I avenged Erik after all. _

The legal expertise she had learned from Erik was also coming back to her and she knew exactly what she needed to say.

"Duke attacked me. He beat me up and tried to kill me."

"I don't have proof but I think you were provoking Duke," he said in an accusatory tone.

It didn't surprise her to hear him say that and she purposely didn't react to his comment.

Silver continued:

"My guess is that you wanted Duke to know you've been kicking it with Darley. Am I right? It makes sense especially after the motel incident that you most likely staged with Billy Darley," Silver grinned. "Ever since I heard you were in Rockside, I knew you were looking for trouble and it was a matter of time before something happened and it finally did Julia."

"Come on, Silver! The thing with Billy was me just having fun," Jules replied calmly seeking to annoy Silver because she knew he hated Billy. "I wanted to find out if the smack downs that women have over him were justified. Trust me, they are!"

"That's fucking fascinating Julia but what you should know is that it looks like the Darleys came out ahead in all this mess, not you. You could even be more implicated than Billy is!"

"What are you talking about Joel?"

"That you sold yourself to your fiancée's killer! You got in bed with the wrong man Julia."

"Maybe I'm still after Darley. And Silver, I got in bed with both men," Julia replied smirking.

"Well, no pun intended but you fucked this up and big. Trenor was not the man you wanted!"

_Still at it Silver? Trying to purposely mislead me to fulfill your hidden agenda?_

"What you don't know is that Duke got fixated with me. When he found out about my hook up with Billy, he went ape shit crazy on me and I had to fight for my life!" Jules calmly elaborated on her lies.

"Bravo! You thought this out well," Silver sarcastically clapped. "However, there is one big o' hole in your story. How in the world other shooters pop up at this isolated cemetery just in time to finish off Duke and his men while you are still alive. That seems either extremely coincidental or planned out, don't you think?"

"Many people could have been after Duke, he had a lot of enemies. I was unlucky to get caught in the middle of something," Jules responded annoyed.

"You mean enemies like Darley who had plenty of motives to kill him? So that you know, based on the ballistics, we suspect Darley's crew were the other shooters…"

_I need to find out if Billy and his boys really saved my neck._

"What?" Jules asked.

"Yes! We'll have to find the actual guns to prove it but I'll bet a fucking year of my salary that Darley's crew killed Trenor and his men," Silver plainly stated. "But the kicker is that _you_ are the common denominator in this mess. I'll ask you one last time, did you make a deal with Billy to finish off Trenor?"

_This is a shocker, I never expected Billy to help me out._

"I didn't have a deal with Darley!" Jules fought back actually speaking the truth. "I can think of a few thugs that have a vested interest in getting the Darleys out of their drug turf."

"Stop playing me, we know it's the other way around Julia! With the Trenors out, Darley can openly claim Mission Hill and you…you could be framed for the Trenor murders. I think that's what Darley wants us to think and that's why Darley dropped you off here. He wanted you alive Julia so you would become the focus of the investigation."

_You're really determined to get Billy! Hell will freeze over first before I snitch to help you._

"I'm also not going to repeat myself again Silver, my situation is a clear self-defense case! I've got no clue who the other shooters were or how I got here," Jules responded showing her annoyance. "It sounds like you are really close to getting Darley this time. Good luck with that. Good Bye my darling!"

"No love for me Julia? You have _nothing_ to say about your buddy Billy?" he said in a sarcastic tone.

Julia gave him an empty stare.

"We're not done, we still need to talk about the blade. Was it yours or Darley's?"

"It's mine. The situation was that either Duke said the big adios or it was me, okay?" Julia replied defiantly. "After he made me admit to been with Darley, he beat the shit out me and tried to choke me. I'm sure you can see the 'love' marks Duke left on me. And Silver, I want this documented and filed so don't forget to send your boys over to talk to me!"

"It's good that you're owning up to knifing Duke because your fingerprints are all over," he said ignoring her comment and changing his voice to a threatening tone. "Julia, I'm positive you're covering up for Darley. I'm here to tell that he is a person of interest and I'm gonna pursue this and your involvement in this shoot out."

"Am I considered a person of interest?"

"No. Ironically, you are considered the victim by some."

"Why ironically? I was attacked and nearly killed by that jerk off and his men!"

"Because I don't believe a single word that you are saying and I will prove it!" Silver said angrily. "What's happened to you Julia? I hardly recognize you. I dedicated a significant amount of time to help you and this is how you repay me?"

_You fucking lied to me and threw me into the lion's den. You didn't care if the Darleys busted and killed me as long as I did your dirty work! _

"No, the question is what's happened to _you_ Silver?" she purposely took a jab at him.

"I'm just doing my job Julia," he said in a stoic manner.

"You're dedication is truly admirable. Now if you excuse me, I'm feeling quite exhausted, I need my rest."

Jules wanted that liar and manipulator out her sight so she pretended to go to sleep.

Soon enough, she heard him stepping out and closing the door after him.

Jules struggled with her emotions because deep down Silver had managed to get her all worked up. Not having a support system by choice, she was feeling very anxious and had no emotional outlet. A part of her wanted to seek out Billy to figure everything out but having those thoughts made her feel a deep sense of guilt. Jules still lusted after him big time and considered her thoughts should be 100% on Erik. Then, there was the part her that hated been trapped in a hospital and didn't want to live anymore. From the looks of it, she would be in interned for a while. Jules figured that if she got desperate enough, she could easily figure out a way to end her life but that thought also filled her with guilt. Erik's words rang in her head: "_… live your life to the fullest. Since I can't do it anymore, Julia you have to do it for the both of us and please… make it count._"

As she stared out the window, Jules weighted her options.

A hard knock on the door startled her. The door slowly opened and another unexpected but familiar face stepped into her hospital room. She couldn't believe who was coming to see her now.

"What are you doing in here?" Jules asked.

"I saw Silver leave. I had to find out what he wanted with you."

"Is that the only reason you are here?" Jules replied irritated.

"I need to find out what's going on!"

"You of all people should you know, he is _your _partner!" Jules responded being short.

"What kind of information is he trying to fish out from you?" Detective Jessica Wallis asked standing in front of her.

"Whatever he's looking for, I'm not going to give it to him. He's a dirty cop," Jules explained.

"I know what he wants. He's been after Darley for too long and now that he knows he's really close this time, he's getting a little restless. Is there anything you want to tell me Julia?"

"No, I hardly recall what's happened to me," Jules lied.

"You better start digging deep into memory lane, we'll be coming back to get your official statement."

"So is your entire fucking department going to pay me visits now?"

"We're just following standard protocols on the investigation Julia."

"Vultures can't pass for innocent doves no matter how hard they try," Jules pointed out with resentment.

"Julia, we suspect Darley and his crew finished up Duke and his men on your behalf and some of the circumstantial evidence against Darley could hold up in court. We'll be digging hard on this mater including your very own participation in these murders."

"You're way late for that party; Silver already threatened me Wallis,"

"Joke and dismiss this all that you want, this is serious. The big boss is hell bent to get to the bottom of this. You're not off the hook!"

Jules knew Wallis was pressuring her. She hesitated for a moment but made up her mind quickly.

"I may have something to give you."

"Really?"

"But I want a deal. You know, the old 'I scratch your back, you scratch mine' plan Wallis," Jules proposed.

"Well, everything is negotiable in life except death," Wallis pointed out.

"I'll give you the info and in exchange, I want this Trenor investigation pushed in a different direction."

"Of course, suspicion could be removed from you and pin it on the Darleys." Wallis responded.

"I don't care who you pin this to, you will steer it away from me _and_ the Darleys."

"Covering Darley's ass Julia?" Wallis laughed hard. "So, you and Darley did go _there_ then."

"Are you jealous Jessica? _I know_ you have a thing for him! No wonder he always coasts clear from the gang unit investigations…"

"You better watch you damn mouth girl!"

"Well you started it!" Jules fought back.

Wallis gave her a very serious look.

"So, are you open to make a deal or not? You will love what I have to give you!" Jules asked as she ignored Wallis' temper.

"It would have to be a pretty big fish to fry for me to pull something like that Julia."

"Oh it is big!" Jules stated and began looking for reconciliatory remark. "Look Wallis…Billy saved my life and I don't want to owe him _anything_. I know what his 'payment plan' consist off and how overly demanding the man is."

"You're smart, owing him gets very costly," Wallis agreed.

"Yes, it does! When I'm released, I'll stop by your office."

"Why don't you save yourself?"

"Honestly, I don't care what happens to me but I have something extra saved for Silver or any of the DAs if they come after me."

"Julia, I don't' like the games that you are playing," Wallis stated sternly. "I will have to see what you have and we'll talk then. I can't promise you anything."

"I understand."

"We'll be keeping an eye on you, you know, in case you decide to slip," Wallis responded smiling.

"I'm feeling the love Wallis," Jules smirked at her.

"I also thought you may want to know…I got the emails and the parcel _Julie girl_. The ball is rolling. The arrests will begin tomorrow. I will keep your identity concealed at all costs," Wallis stated in an extremely serious tone. "I'll send some people this afternoon to get your official statement and photograph you. I want to document your _obvious_ self-defense case against Trenor. All right?"

Wallis smirked at her and Jules nodded yes.

"Thanks Jules, you did an amazing job. So, are you gonna be okay girl? You were underground for so long…."

"I'll be fine," Jules winked at her.

Then, the detective waved goodbye as she closed the door.

When she was finally alone in the room, Jules sighed as she rested her head on the pillow. _So, Billy Darley did save her life after all._ That was a fact that still puzzled her and gave her quite a bit to think.

_After wounding me, why would he do that? That's crazy! But I am equally insane and I need to stop lying to myself. A part of me likes him and…the other part resents him. I have to get it together before I face him because I know he'll turn up the pressure dial on me big time next time we see each other._

The other thought crossing Jules' mind was the relief she felt in being reassured that Wallis was going to live up to her end of the bargain and keep her identify concealed. Given her present physical state, she was in no position to be on the run.

However, what Jules couldn't foresee is that Wallis would slip up and will tell _one person_ of her role in this entire affair. Jules would find out soon who this person was and what they would do with that information.

_Hi There!_

_Ok, the cemetery shooting is over and now it's time to find out about the aftermath of it. Did Billy drop Jules off at the hospital like he said he would? And more importantly did Jules make it alive? _

_You gotta read to find out!_

_Okay, a little more unveiling occurred. Are you surprised? Did you guess right on who was Jules' police contact? How about Silver's agenda? What you think of Jules 'moment with Erik? Does Billy have his own hidden agenda as well? Is he a friend or foe?_

_There is one chapter left. Wallis, the queen of incompetence will slip and tell SOMEBODY that Jules was the mole and whistle blower. And for the Billy fans, rest assured that he will make an appearance in that very last chapter. _

_Please give me some love and share with me your predictions on how this is going to end! Thanks for reading :)_

_P.S: Yes, I know I've quoted this song before (diff. lines). I just love it and it's from my fave band!_


	20. Chapter 20

*****Please disregard the mix up in the chapter numbers from the pull down menu*****

**Chapter 20– The Fall Out and the Unexpected**

_"I'm slowly getting closure.__  
__I guess it's really over.__  
__I'm finally getting better.__  
__And now I'm picking up the pieces.__  
__I'm spending all of these years__  
__Putting my heart back together."__  
__"Over you" - Daughtry_

It took 24 hours for Wallis' men to show up to take Jules' statement but she hardly noticed from being glued to the TV. The disks she had given Wallis had more incriminating information than she could ever imagine and Boston had been thrown into frenzy. The entire Trenor organization had been exposed. Arrests were happening all over town and the media had a hay day covering the developments.

Jules was thrilled to see Duke Trenor Sr. on camera crying like a little girl when he was arrested. As the news clip ended, the detectives happened to walk into her hospital room. Jules was relieved that Wallis had sent with the men her backback containing her personal items that she had left behind at the cemetery.

It was obvious that Wallis had instructed the men to stick to the self-defense scenario and Jules followed their lead. As the men wrapped up their report, they casually mentioned that the turf war over the Trenor territory had already began. Thoughts of Billy Darley immediately filled Jules' mind. She was certain he had to be all over claiming Mission Hill. It also hit her that she had yet to hear from him and found herself disappointed at that realization. However, Jules understood that any potential contact they would have with one another could incriminate them especially with Silver going after them.

**"…_shooting by Stygian bridge, interstate crossing…."_**

"What was announced on your two-way radio?" Jules asked.

"I apologize for the distraction, I'll turn it down," Detective Lewis apologized.

"Dude, turn it up!" Jules frantically demanded.

Detective Lewis looked at her confused but complied.

_"**Shooting is underway by the interstate underpass of Stygian bridge. All area units report to the scene. Copy."**_

_That's one of Billy's spots._

"Lewis get Wallis on the phone now!"

Lewis dialed the number and handed off the phone to Jules.

"Wallis speaking."

"It's Jules, what's going on by Stygian?"

"There's been a shootout between Silver and Darley."

"Is… Billy okay?" Jules asked trying to sound composed.

"I don't know. I know some of Billy's men got injured and Silver got shot pretty bad and fled. That's all I have."

_Fucking Silver!_

"Can you keep me up to date with what's going on?"

"Yes. We're upping your guard Jules. With Silver on the run, you could be next."

"Wallis, what have you failed to tell me?" Jules asked being suspicious.

"Jules, I couldn't tell you yesterday but there's an arrest warrant for Silver because he was on Trenor's payroll. Somebody tipped off Silver of the situation before an arrest was made and my guess is that he's taking matters into his own hands. That's why I was trying to find out what he wanted with you yesterday."

"Damn that fucker! And why is he so obsessed with Billy?"

"Billy dealt to Silver's brother who was a big time addict. Ever since his brother overdosed, Joel has blamed the Darleys."

"That sounds familiar…" Jules bitterly stated feeling somewhat guilty. "Did you try reaching Billy directly?"

"I've sent him two text messages and he hasn't responded. As soon as I know something, I'll let you know. I need to talk to Lewis now."

"And Wallis, tell your Lewis dude over here that I need a fucking gun. I'm not laying in this bed like a sitting duck!"

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

The hours passed and Jules was restless with no news. She had never bothered to get Billy's cell phone number and regretted not having it now. Just as she was about to call Wallis, the female detective walked into her room.

"Hey Jules, we're still tracking down Silver," Wallis explained. "Darley is okay and asked about you."

Jules tried not to show her feelings of relief but Wallis' reaction told her she failed miserably.

"I told him you were now conscious and being impossible already so he would know for sure that you were feeling better. Oh, I also let him know that you were worried for him."

_Bitch!_

"Why would you tell him that?" Jules asked defensively.

"Am I wrong?" Wallis snottily responded. "I don't see why you have such an issue with the truth."

"Because his ego doesn't need any more feeding you idiot!" Jules angrily replied. "Maybe that's why you're his doormat and Billy acts like you don't exist until he needs something from you."

"You arrogant bitch!" Wallis snapped at her.

"It's not looking like I'm the only one having an issue with the truth. I'm warning you Jessica, stop with your fucking jabs at me. Just because I'm in recovery, it doesn't mean I'll put up your crap!"

"And you need to fucking tone it down Jules! Maybe I should just…"

"What are you going to do?" Jules interrupted the detective. "I've given you the glory of busting the Trenors although it was me who did the dirty work but I can also take it away!"

"And I can still feed you to the big bad _Silver_ wolf…"

"Go right ahead Wallis. Like I wanna be here, it's you fucking people insisting on saving me!" Jules jumped in a dismissive manner. "But since I'm still around, let's clear this out now. Do you have an issue with Darley screwing me?"

"I actually..."

Wallis was interrupted by a commotion coming from the hallway.

Instinctively, Jules cocked the gun she got from Detective Lewis. Wallis took position ready to fire and ordered Lewis to get behind the door.

When, the door opened, Bodie popped in with a bruise on his forehead and being handled by two cops.

"He was resisting being searched and we had to calm him down a notch," a policeman reported back baton at hand.

"He claims to have a message for Miss McFindlay from a Mr. Darley. He also brought with him this box filled with '_goodies'_," a third policeman stated sarcastically handing out the box to Detective Wallis.

Wallis gave the officers an 'okay' and everyone armed put their guns down. Jules noticed that Bodie had his eyes fixed on her and had not gotten over the shock of seeing the state in which Duke's beating left her. She was also annoyed that Wallis took the box Billy had sent her away from her. However, since her primary concern was finding out how Billy was doing, she decided to ignore her actions for the time being.

"Bodie, what's happening?" Jules asked.

"The motherfucker basically came looking to kill Billy. The clown began by taunting him first and their argument obviously escalated. It's not like Billy was gonna take his shit, you know? Then, Silver pulled out two guns and the shooting started. Billy sent me here to warn you girl, Silver is out to kill you too."

"Is Billy okay?"

"Billy's got some minor injuries, cuts and bruises mostly. We've been busy combing through Rockside to hunt down that mofo. Dog was really a fucking soldier today. He took a bullet that had Billy's name all fucking over."

"Is Dog going to make it?"

"Yes. By the way, Billy thought you may need those Jules," Bodie responded bringing attention to the box that was now being inspected by Wallis. "Wallis, that shit ain't for you. Give my girl Jules her fucking presents!"

Wallis furiously handed Jules the box. When she opened it, Jules saw it contained two revolvers, several 15-round magazines and a pocket blade.

"Damn it Bodie! Could you at least pretend to respect our badges? I'm sure those suckers aren't registered!" Wallis complained dragging Lewis out of the room.

"Just in case, Billy wanted you to have a little peace of mind with these Jules," Bodie responded ignoring Wallis' outburst and handing her one of the guns. "We'll try to have someone keeping an eye on you but we're really stretched out between Mission Hill and Silver. Billy shot the asshole and he's badly hurt. However, until we don't see him in a body bag, we all need to watch it."

Jules nodded to Bodie as the seriousness of the situation was sinking in her mind.

"Jules, I heard Silver myself and he's got it bad for you and Billy."

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

The first thing Jules did when she was released from the hospital was to stop at storage to retrieve a video in which she managed to capture Trenor Sr. and two local politicians as they exchanged bribe money. She had held on to it to use it as leverage in case she got into a jam with the Trenors.

Wallis knew the video would make her look good again in the eyes of her superiors. So, she deemed this new evidence good enough and considered it would be enough of a distraction to divert the cemetery shootout investigation away from Jules and the Darleys.

Jules then set up shop in a suburban motel far away from Rockside and Mission Hill. As her leg and shoulder got better, she started her therapy sessions. She didn't have police escorts 24/7 anymore but since Silver was still unaccounted for, she remained armed and vigilant.

Jules heard the Mission Hill turf war had gotten brutal. Jules figured Billy had to have his hands full. Now that Wallis was pushing the shooting investigation away from them, it should allow Billy to freely concentrate in taking control of the area.

Several weeks passed after she was released from the hospital and Jules still hadn't heard anything from Billy ever since Bodie's visit. This upset her because she had asked Bodie to have Billy call her when he got a chance but he never did. Considering the state of things and that anger and pain had finally abandoned her, Jules decided it was time to move on and make her own plans.

Erik's friend Lars had been urging her to visit him in Australia. Her good college friend Lauren lived in Melbourne and she was thrilled to make plans to see her too. She recalled that Erik had always dreamt of visiting Ayers Rock, the Outback along with the Great Barrier Reef. Jules felt she had to take this trip to make it count for both her and Erik.

That very same day Jules went ahead and booked her plane ticket. The visit would be perfect as no one knew her down there and it would also offer her a chance for a clean slate start with her life.

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

Now that she had finally figured out what to do with her life, Jules received an unexpected visitor that made her doubt her plans. When she saw him waiting for her, she wasn't sure what sort of expectations to have from the visit.

Jamie had come to check on her and quickly filled her in with the latest news from Rockside.

"Are you off the hook as the rat suspect?" Jules asked.

"Billy and Joe were on to us for a while. Lucky for me, you knocked me out. Heco, being high as usual, hardly remembered the raid. So, the heat ended up on Bodie. Jules, did you and Bodie ever….?"

"Hell no! Did the jerk said we did?"

"No but Joe has been fueling the rumors…"

"Sounds like Joe is asking for another beating from me," Jules joked. "I flirted with Bodie just to mess with Billy."

"Well it worked. Billy has been on his ass. You've put Bodie through hell!"

"Rotten luck!" Jules sneered.

"I also got my payback from Bones by screwing up some profitable weapons deals," Jamie announced proudly. "Then, my sister is dating Joe and he's treating her all right so I'm backing off from hurting the Darleys. I'm thinking that I'll stay working for Billy after all."

"So your sister likes wimpy men" Jules teased him.

Jamie laughed. Hearing Billy's name made Jules want to ask about him but she held back. However, Jamie figured out her thoughts.

"Billy has been busy as hell claiming Mission Hill. He's got about two thirds of the turf under control. But overall, he's more or less business as usual."

"Good for him," Jules stated trying to hide that Jamie's words had rubbed her the wrong way.

"Bullshit!" Jamie busted out laughing. "He's had you since Round 1."

"He doesn't have me; I just like having sex with him!"

"Jules, when are you going to admit you like him?"

"Sweetie, girls have needs too and there's nothing wrong with satisfying them!" Jules brushed it off.

"Well, if that is the case, why do you keep on turning me down? I can satisfy whatever you need…" Jamie stated toying with her.

"Dude, are you freaking deaf? I've told you a million times you're not my type!"

"Yeah, I know…I'm not Darley," Jamie winked at her. "No worries, your secret is safe with me. Jules, I think you need to know that Billy keeps tabs on you."

Jules looked at him surprised.

"Well, what do you think my job is supposed to be right now?" Jamie pointed out.

They both exchanged naughty smiles. She almost asked for Billy's number but didn't. Even though she could guess why Billy was keeping his distance, Jules was still annoyed at him. _If he supposedly cares for me why hasn't he bothered in seeking me out? We could have worked something out under the radar. Jackass!_

Jamie sensed her annoyance and tried easing her up: "Jules, the dust is still settling. Give Billy some time."

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

As Jules walked out of the gym, her phone rang.

"Yes?"

"Hi Darling."

Jules tensed up as she immediately recognized the voice.

"Missed me? I haven't forgotten about you."

"I was hoping you would."

"You looked sad and lonely today."

_Fuck! He's watching me._

"I am a loner Joel. What do you want?"

"I'm reminding you of our pending matters…"

"Yeah, like what?"

"You ruined me you psychotic bitch and you will pay for it!"

"You ruined yourself by signing up on the Trenor payroll! Are you planning to be a coward and hit me when I don't expect it or are we making a date to face off each other?"

"I like the element of surprise Julia."

"Oh, I get it now! You haven't strike me yet because you are still recovering. I heard Billy got you badly. Am I right Silver?"

"Your leg is looking good Julia. I hope you're able to run because you won't be laughing at me next time we see each other. We shall meet sooner than what you think!"

**CLICK!**

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

Jules was on her last week of therapy and was heading back to her motel. As she got off the taxi, Jules was in for a big surprise.

_Billy Darley had finally decided to show up his face._

Her nipples literally hardened at the sight of him. He was smoking away leaning on his car. He looked his usual arrogant handsome self. When he saw her coming, he put out his cigarette and let out a sexy smirk as he walk up to her.

Jules was feeling apprehensive and stopped herself after a few steps. Since she didn't know the reasons for his visit, she made it a point to avoid showing him how excited she was to see him.

"Hi Darley," she said sounding casual.

"What the fuck happened to Will?" he said curling up a smile.

"I was told it was a stupid name," Jules smiled.

"I was a little upset that day, it was a rough morning," he said with a naughty expression.

"No, it was stupid. So what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

"What do you think?"

He hadn't even finished speaking when he already had her wrapped in his arms and kissed her passionately. Jules remembered that how Billy kissed was telling of his mood. Today, his needy and intense kiss told her he had missed her.

"How did you find me?" Jules asked still breathless from the kiss and Billy kept his arms around her.

"I had your bank account number and my inside person told me exactly which branch you kept on coming to."

"Why am I so clueless about people tracking me?"

"It's a good thing! I needed to fucking know where you were but I couldn't come any where near you, you know why. I didn't abandon you babe."

"Darley, I figured out the situation."

"The police were on our asses Jules. Bones was on the edge for weeks. I also been claiming Trenor's turf. Somehow, the cops finally backed down from us but Silver wouldn't and that tied me up big time. I've been working my ass off fucking forever!"

"I understand. By the way, how's my buddy Joe?"

"He hates you about the same," Billy grinned.

"So he won't forgive me for the…" Jules motioned to show a punch maneuver.

"The men won't let him forget it," Billy responded chuckling. "I gotta fucking do something about this. I can't let him ruin the Darley name."

"I heard he's got a girl now," Jules asked playfully. "What kind of a woman is with a man that other girls can beat up?"

Billy gave her an amused look and pulled her closer to him. "You haven't been able to beat the shit out me yet…."

_I'm feeling it: the strong arms, the firm chest, the wide shoulders… I have to retain a certain degree of dignity in here. Billy, why are you so damn intoxicating?_

"Which reminds me…you shot me you son of a bitch!"

He pulled her even closer, her lips nearly touching his.

"I thought you were after me you little devil," he said with a grin. "When you didn't finish me off when you could and after having shot you, I believed you were really after Trenor. Then, I thought you could use my help. Jules, I think you owe me a big fucking reward."

Jules demeanor hardened completely and she pushed Billy away from her.

"So you're here to collect payment for saving my life Darley?"

"Do not fucking insult me Jules!" Billy hissed back at her. "I'm here to check on you and because I know you got the fucking cops off our back!"

_How does he know that?_

Billy held out a smile at her reaction to his comment.

"Yes, I know about your deal. Let's just say Wallis and I have an…arrangement. I'm helping her with some stuff and she's turning a blind eye for me with certain things…"

_An arrangement my ass! That whore….why couldn't she keep her mouth shut!_

"Lookee what we got here, 2 for the price of one!" a male voice interrupted their conversation. "So Darley, that's how you work Wallis! The bitch ain't that dumb, she's getting some from you! And Julia, I didn't know you were into threesomes!"

Billy and Jules were stunned to see former Detective Joel Silver pointing a gun at them.

Jules felt the force of Billy's strength pushing her quickly behind him as he discreetly lifted up the back of his shirt. Jules got his drift; he always kept a gun tucked behind his pants.

"I hate interrupting a lover's quarrel but I can't let you two live fucking happily ever after," Silver stated. "Now slowly lift your hands up in the air and place your guns on the ground…and any knives you may have Julia."

"In your fucking dreams Silver!" Billy responded.

"Darley, you don't have the upper hand this time," Silver cunningly stated. "Darley, you lost me my brother and your slut and accomplice here lost me my career. The time has finally come for you two to pay up; it's time for some fucking retribution!"

As he finished speaking, former Detective Joel Silver let out an evil grin as he cocked the gun he was pointing at Jules and Billy.

Chapter End Notes:

_**So...any thoughts on wonderful Wallis and her "arrangement'? How about Billy's and Jules' first meeting in a long time? So what do you think will happen with Silver? Did you guess what was in the box that Billy sent Jules?**_

_**There is really ONE chapter left now and it will be contain the final showdowns but I can promise it will be a hot one with several bangs…of more than one kind…**evil grin** **_

_**Please let me know what you think. Don't be a meanie and review please. Cheers!**_


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21- The Deal: You're Not Dead Yet**

_"I am here still waiting though I still have my doubts __  
__ I am damaged at best. __  
__ Like you've already figured out." _

_Broken - Lifehouse _

While holding Billy's gun on one hand and having another gun in the hands of an enemy being pointed at her and Billy, Jules tried to quickly figure out a plan to get them out alive of the situation that they were in.

Jules knew she had to be extremely careful. Billy was shielding her and if she made the wrong call, it could quickly cost him his life. He had clearly trusted her judgment as he had purposely placed her behind him with access to his gun. As Silver was about to say something, she figured out what to do.

"You're deep in the sewer Silver! Did you notice the undercover cops across the street?" Jules bluffed as she pointed to the opposite side of the road with her one free hand.

In the second that Silver took to check this out, Jules pulled out Billy's gun and began shooting. As she kept on firing, Billy dragged her with him and pulled them both to safety behind a white sedan. Jules only stopped shooting when she went through the entire 20-round that the magazine held. She got Silver in the left arm but he was quick and he managed to run behind a pickup truck.

Silver now returned the fire and Billy and Jules ducked behind the car. As the former detective viciously shot at them, Jules and Billy got re-organized as they were showered in glass from the bullets that were hitting the white sedan's windows.

While the shooting continued, she gave Billy back his gun and she pulled out hers. He replaced the clip on his gun to reload and sent a quick text message which Jules figured had to be intended for Bodie. Billy then signaled to Jules their next move. He wanted her to provide him coverage and she positioned herself to one of the corners of the car and began firing from the side. Billy then slid down to shoot at Silver from under the car and got him in the leg.

Silver was now down on the ground but still holding on to his gun. Jules and Billy understood it was time to swiftly take care of this Silver problem for once and for all.

As soon as Jules finished reloading her gun, the pair carefully began approaching him with guns ready to shoot. With Silver being hurt, Jules thought he seemed to be keeping a little too quiet and still. She feared he may have some dangerous aces under his sleeve. Realizing that Silver's good arm was still holding on to a gun, she knew that he needed to be neutralized and fast. With this in mind and being aware she was a far better shot than Billy, Jules decided to take a risky but necessary move. She signaled Billy her plans to approach Silver from the side. Billy was not convinced on her suggestion but she stayed on her path to force him to go along with her idea. When she deemed she had a decent shot, she signaled for Billy to start shooting from the other end. As soon as she heard the gunfire, she made her move. She aimed and fired several shots at Silver who was now screaming in pain as Jules had blown his hand into pieces. Jules could see that he was crawling away from them with difficulty and that his gun had landed away from him. Jules had a good shot at Silver's weapon and fired at it to prevent him from re-seizing it. Billy signaled to her again and each one knew well what they needed to do to finish the job.

Billy fired at Silver again and as Jules quickly approached the former detective's body, she saw him jerking off from the bullets. Just as Silver was attempting to pull out another gun with his wounded arm, Jules startled him by placing her gun on his temple. Billy kicked the gun on the ground away from them and quickly searched their enemy, pulling two more guns off him and a knife. Then, without wasting another second, Billy shot Silver in the stomach.

As they witnessed Silver suffering from great pain, Billy spoke to Jules: "Remind me not to get on your shit list ever again!"

Then, Billy turned to taunt Silver: "So this was it motherfucker? We've been keeping tabs on you. I have to tell you that I was never going to let you get to her."

Jules was blown away by his comment. _When you want to, you can be amazing Billy Darley._ Just as she was about to say something to Billy, a white van popped up in the parking lot with Jamie and Bodie in it.

Billy approached them and handed out orders: "Pop the motherfucker quickly and clean this shit up. I don't want his body found nor identified...ever."

Although the police could arrive at the scene any second now, there was something Jules still felt she had to do. "One second," she requested.

She walked up to Silver and grabbed him by the jaw and spoke: "You knew damn well it was important for me to figure out what happened to Erik. You didn't give a shit about that you fucking prick! You fed me lies and watch me put my life in danger so I would clean house for you!"

Jules shoved her gun in the former detective's mouth. Silver's eyes widened, filled with tears and his breathing became more erratic by the second. Jules continued talking trying to repress her anger: "You completely underestimated me and Darley. Go and burn in hell thinking about that you asshole!"

Jules pressed the trigger without hesitation. Then, she got up on her feet acting as if she was in a trance. She never realized the surprised looks that Billy's men exchanged with each other. Somehow, Billy Darley seemed unfazed by Jules' actions and walked up to her.

"You okay?" he asked as he noticed she still kept her gun pointed at the now deceased Silver.

"I had to do this Billy. I had to see him pay for purposely leading me astray for so long," she calmly explained as she turned to look at him but remained stiff solid.

Billy slowly took the gun out of her hands, placed it in his pocket and turned her around to face him.

"He's gone Jules," he assured her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Jules still seemed to be immersed in her thoughts but nodded in agreement.

"Is there anyone else we need to get?" Billy asked.

"No... he... is the last one," she slowly responded as her eyes got watery.

"Then, you're done babe, it's over," he stated as he looked at her in the eyes. As the finality of it all hit her, she tried giving him a courageous look but was too emotional to pull it off with confidence.

Jules felt Billy's hand wiping off the blood from her face. She then felt the very same warmness of his hand slid behind her neck pushing slowly her face closer to his until she felt the wetness of his lips. As their lips connected, the sensations it triggered felt intense and enticing to her. Billy's kiss began slow and tender but suddenly took a life force of its own. His kiss was telling her that things could be all right after all and Jules completely craved for more of that feeling. _I like you Darley but this thing between us scares me._

Almost in contradiction to her feelings and as if she was fighting off the thoughts in her head, Jules suddenly wrapped her arms around him in desperation. _Make feel safe Billy, make me believe things can be all right once again._ Billy reacted by holding her tighter to him almost as if he sensed the struggles in her mind. They continued their passionate kiss until Bodies' voice startled both of them: "Yo Billy! You two better get going dog!"

Billy pulled Jules to the black Mustang and as they sped off from the motel, Jules saw Bodie and Jamie carrying Silver's body in a gigantic plastic bag into the van. Jules was certain no one would ever know anything about Joel Silver ever again.

Shortly after, Jules felt Billy's hand on her tight as he sought out her attention: "Jules, you and I need to clear some stuff."

X^X^ X^X^ X^X^

When Jules walked into Billy's apartment, she quickly spotted a thin and tall man lounging in the sofa watching a porn movie. When their eyes met, his reaction was a mix of embarrassment and anger. He turned off the TV and his eyes had that dark Darley fury in them. He was clearly not pleased to see her there.

"What the fuck are you doing in here Jules?" Joe angrily asked. "Billy is not here and it's in your best fucking interest to leave him alone!"

When he saw Billy coming through the door, Joe's face got a little pale but he was not ready to back down.

"What's your angle now Jules? Is B-Street's gang lord next on your list?" Joe pressed on.

"Joe, I've had a shitty day and I'm dying to take it on someone," Jules menacingly began to follow him around the living room while repeatedly jabbing her index finger on Joe's chest as he unsuccessfully tried to get away from her. "Disrespect me one more time and I'll beat you up so bad that you'll forget you were born a Darley! You can get out my face now!"

Billy could hardly contain his laugh as Joe fumingly walked away from Jules.

"I need to wash off this blood," Jules directed her comment at Billy as she looked at her hands. She then noticed and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels that was sitting on the coffee table.

"I could use a drink," Jules announced as she disappeared into the bathroom.

Billy had a big grin on his face and motioned with his index finger for his brother to come closer to him.

"Joe, you know damn well she fucking means it so keep your trap shut. Now, call for a pick up and get fucking lost!" Billy ordered his brother.

Joe rolled his eyes at Billy, grabbed his coat and left the apartment in a fury.

"I feel better now," Jules stated as she returned to the living room wiping off the corner of her mouth with her sleeve and hanging on to the whiskey bottle in her other hand.

She noticed that Joe was no longer around. "Darley, did you get rid of the 'professional fuck up'?"

"It's done babe," he said as he studied her behavior with a high degree of amusement.

"Good," Jules replied with a sigh. "Billy... I never got to thank you for saving my neck."

"No need to babe. What I really wanna know is if you are planning on giving me that reward now or not?" Billy playfully asked walking towards her.

_He had to go there again! Is that all he thinks about?_

"Well, it depends," she replied with a hint of irritation in her voice."What do you charge Wallis?"

"Are you jealous Jules?" Billy taunted her.

"Nope, I just wanna pay fair street value."

"When are you dropping that damn tough act? I know that you like me Jules...especially during the times when you call me William," he replied with a big grin.

"Darley do not confuse the fact that I enjoy sexing it up with you with something that is not!" Jules responded in a dismissive tone.

"Why do you insist in acting like a bitch after all that's happened? Fucking listen to yourself woman, you're being ridiculous! Maybe I should have let Silver get you," he said exasperated.

"You should have had," she said with sadness.

"Don't say shit you don't mean Jules!" Billy stated sternly. "Whatever happened in the past, it's done and we finished taking care of it. Let it fucking go!"

_The man is relentless. Why can't he just quit it? I have to get to the point of this; I need to get out of here._

"You said we have stuff to clear out," she reminded him taking another sip from the whiskey. _With Alpha Dog at such close proximity, I need the alcohol to help me relax._

"Yes, I wanted to talk about the raid and its aftermath. I don't think you know all that happened."

"What did I miss Darley?"

"After you took off on the bike, I made some calls and found out Duke was following you. Knowing you were wounded and seeing that Trenor was already at the cemetery, I knew you were in trouble," Billy explained. "Then, it was fucking hard to see that fuckstick beat you up. I wanted to kill him but we had to wait for the right moment to jump in."

"Did you drop me off at the hospital?"

"Yes, you passed out and were bleeding like crazy. I really fucking thought you were not going to make it. For the obvious reasons, I couldn't stay but we know some of the nurses there. We alerted them you needed urgent care and they kept me updated on how you were doing. Jules, they almost lost you during surgery. Did you know that?"

"I know I was dead for a minute or two. None of you should have saved me."

"Stop with the fucking death wish woman!" Billy scolded her annoyed.

Jules kept a stoic face and refused to show any emotions to his comment.

"I know you could have ratted on us or framed us with the police but you never did. Loyalty fucking means something to me Jules," he stated looking at her deep into her eyes. "I've been fucking impressed how you've handled yourself in this whole mess, you stayed strong through it all. Then, not being able to see you, it was driving me up the fucking wall."

_Stop talking Darley! You're making me want to jump you so bad._

As he began moving closer to her, Jules sought to avoid him by heading to nearest window and pretending as if she was thinking while looking outside to the street. Although she acted like a cold fish on the outside, she was actually panicking inside. This time Jules was afraid to get it on with Billy because she finally admitted to herself she had feelings for him and was fearful of becoming involved with someone again. Considering how demanding Billy was, that could be a strong possibility. _It's time to leave. I need one last dose of liquid courage to wrap up my departure from here._

As Jules was immersed in her thoughts, she hadn't realized that Billy was standing next to her. Just as she was about to take a sip from the whiskey bottle, Billy yanked the bottle away from her hand and without warning, send it crashing into the wall. He gave her a furious look and pulled her towards him.

"Numbing yourself?"

"So what if I fucking want to numb myself? You're not the boss of me!"

"And you're not dead yet so stop fucking living like you are!" Billy yelled at her clearly frustrated.

"Jules, I've felt the fire in you. Right now..this very fucking moment...is about you and me. This is our time and I ain't wasting another second of it!" he stated and pulled her deep into his mouth.

His kiss was so demanding that Jules could barely breathe but her entire body was burning from his touch. She thought about resisting him out of pride. _Who am I kidding in here? I want this. I want him!_ Jules decided it was time to stop being ridiculous and to live life to the fullest.

As she made her decision, he had already taken her top and pants off, Billy was that hungry for her. He pushed her against the hallway wall and as he placed himself in between her legs, she immediately felt the bulk that was growing inside his pants. Billy was decisively letting her know he was unwilling to wait much longer and thinking about that made her want him even more. Billy had now buried his face in between her breasts and pulled her bra down to her waist. He playfully swirled his tongue on both of her hardened nipples and she loved the pleasure he was giving her from it.

Before she knew it, he unhooked her bra off her and dropped it on the floor as he began kissing her in the mouth. He then moved her inside his room. Just as Billy pushed the door to a close with his leg, Jules aggressively pulled his jacket and shirt off him. Billy gave her a wicked smile and took off his boots and socks. Next, he pulled down his pants and boxers in one quick move.

At the sight of his naked body and the memories it triggered, Jules found herself nearly hyperventilating. Billy was fully aroused and so was she. She shamelessly checked out his entire body as he moved closer to her. He kneeled behind her, playfully bit the side of her underwear and pulled it down with his teeth. He stayed behind her and made her  
spread her legs apart as he tilted her forward to lean on the dresser.

Before she knew it, he had buried his face in her most intimate spot and took turns between swirling his tongue and fingering her from behind. Jules was enjoying it so much that she was moaning like crazy and could barely stay in a standing position.

When she didn't expect it, he stood up. He turned her around to face him and lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around his hips. Jules hung her arms around his neck and kissed him with passion. As he carried her over his hips walking her towards the wall, she soon felt the coldness of the wall pressed against her naked back. She stopped kissing him to give him a hungry look to let him know she was ready. _It's time Billy. Work your magic. _He gave her a mischievous smile as he began positioning himself.

As Jules felt him now sliding inside of her, her smile became wider with each of his pulsing moves. She kept her arms wrapped around his neck and Billy held on to her hips pulling her closer to him. When he completely filled her in, Jules let out a loud gasp. Now that he was sliding inside of her in full motion, the force of each thrust revealed the intensity of his desire for her. _Damn you Billy Darley, you feel so good!_ Then it hit her, it was happening.

"Billy!" Jules screamed and he knew exactly what that cry meant. With each passing second, Billy stepped up the pace trusting her rough and deep. She could see the arrogant grin on his face but she didn't care that he was feeling all proud of himself because he was taking her exactly where she wanted to go. Jules tightened her muscles to feel him more intensely and when the eruption came, the explosion consumed her in a fierce manner. She buried her nails on his back as she screamed his first name: William. For some strange reason, that's what she had taken up to blurt out loud when she came with him and Billy just loved it.

As Jules began recovering from the sexual tidal wave she had just been hit with, Billy grunted hard and sped up the pace. _It was his turn._ When it happened for him, he buried his face around her neck and Jules wrapped her arms around him in an affectionate manner. She held on to him tight as he rocked both of their bodies as he peaked out of pleasure. When it was all done, Billy kept them in a tight embrace and he began slowly biting her neck. He made his way up to her ear and whispered to her: "Do you have any complaints or did I sex it up enough for you babe?"

Jules laughed out loud; Billy was such a tease. "I missed you Darley, I'll give you that much," she flirtatiously stated to him. Billy curled up a smile as he carried her off to his bed. For the remainder of that evening, Jules and Billy worked hard in taming down their craving for each other.

The next morning, Jules felt Billy squirming in the bed. "Good morning _William_," she naughtily greeted him.

"Jules don't be all fucking hyper now. I'm damn tired," he grumpily announced.

She smiled in her mind. _You should be exhausted, you bad, bad boy!_

"Stay here with me," Billy demanded of her as he pulled her closer to him.

_Yes, there is no need to re-enact the bitch fit that you threw the last time I was here. _

As Billy lay next to her with his eyes closed, she stayed quietly in bed examining his many scars. She wanted to know where they came from.

"How you get this?" she asked gently touching a shoulder scar that was similar to hers.

"Shoot out."

She kissed it and saw him smile as he kept his eyes closed. She pointed to a round scar on his arm.

"Bones burned me with a cigarette."

"How old where you?"

"Nine years old."

"I hate that fat prick even more," she stated as she double-kissed it.

Billy drew a chuckle but still kept his eyes shut. She pointed at another scar on the side of his abdomen and waited for his response.

"Stabbed. This asshole tried using Joe as a piñata to get back at me."

"Did you win the fight?"

"Hell yeah," he said bragging.

Jules found his cockiness amusing and kissed the scar.

Billy suddenly opened his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm becoming re-acquainted with the key landmarks of your body," she said smiling at him.

"No babe, what the fuck are you doing to me?"

His words completely aroused her. Jules kissed him with an urgent desire as she climbed on him. He wrestled her until he pushed himself on top of her and in between her legs. As she noticed Billy was hard once again, she spread her legs a little further and Billy didn't skip a beat. Right away, he began pulsing himself inside of her. With each intense thrust, Jules involuntarily arched her back taking it all. She knew their wild hunger for each other had been unleashed one more time. _It was nirvana time once again_

After their actions finished following their natural course, Jules rested when she noticed Billy seemed deep in his thoughts.

"What's wrong Darley?"

"Did you really have to sleep with that motherfucker?"

"Given how reserved Duke was, it was the only way for me to get into his apartment and secure the accounting info. That's why I spent those three disgusting days with him."

"If you had trusted me, we could have found another way to get him Jules," he said annoyed.

"We can debate that for hours and I'm not going there Billy," she firmly replied.

Billy had hated her answer and already seemed to be in a bad mood. As Jules studied his reactions, it struck her that Billy looked really worn out to her. Two rough months of non-stop stress had indeed taken a toll on him and Jules considered that she had to be very careful with what she responded to him now. After losing Erik, she made the decision not to have any more attachments in her life and that decision included her own family. Deep down, she really liked Billy but this was a relationship that she knew wouldn't work out in the long term due to their dominant personalities, his womanizing ways and the violence in his life. _It was time to put the cards out on the table for Alpha Dog to see. _

"Billy, I need to come clean to you," Jules spoke in a very serious tone. "I'm leaving to go overseas in two weeks."

His anger surfaced at the speed of light and Billy wondered if this was another bullshit trip.

"Do you have another sick relative to take care of Jules?"

"I'm leaving for Australia to visit friends and..."

"Are you running away from somebody else?" he interrupted her.

"No, my work is done here Billy."

"It's not. We should partner up Jules. You and I would completely rule all of Boston. Can you fucking imagine it? No one could stop us!"

"Billy that's what _you_ want, that's not what I want. Listen babe, what you see here, it's not the real me. I'll never be Julia again but if I want to become somewhat of a normal person again, I can't shed all these layers off me if I stay here."

Billy felt angry. _What the fuck did she mean by that?_ This woman was still a fucking wild card but for some sick reason and in spite of all the other women he could have, he kept thinking back to Jules. _But Jules wasn't like these other chicks. She was unpredictable, independent, gutsy and loved fucking as much as he did. He had come to crave both the challenge and excitement of it all._ When Wallis told him she made a deal to cover his ass and that Jules didn't want him to know about it, it meant something to him. And now that Silver was out of the picture and they could finally go on freely with their lives, she had to dump on him the news that she was leaving? _Ungrateful bitch!_ Right at that instant, Billy made up his mind that he was done with her.

Billy pushed her away and began searching for his clothes. Jules snatched his pants to prevent him from leaving.

"I made my plans when I thought you weren't coming back," Jules explained.

"Like you didn't know where to find me? Well, now that I did for you the dirty work of getting rid of Silver, you're all set Jules! Have a nice fucking life!" he said trying to pull his pants out of her hands.

"Now, you stop now with the bullshit Billy. You didn't take down Silver all by yourself!" she stated raising her voice. "I'm finally being up front with you and you treat me like dirt? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Jules give me back my fucking clothes. I'm outta of here!" he yelled.

"Not until we figure this out! You want us to be together and I also want us to spend time with each other before I leave, we can work something out."

"You're making a lot of fucking assumptions about me," he responded in a patronizing tone.

"Admitting to want us together doesn't make you less of a man, it actually makes you human."

Billy looked like he was fuming.

_If you want to be like that fine Darley. I'm not going to beg you to stay._

"Go ahead Darley, walk away. I will not stop you," she firmly stated as she threw his pants back at him. "However, I was hoping we would reach an agreement."

He looked at her in the eye. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I'm leaving overseas regardless but here's the deal I can offer you. I'll push my trip date for a few weeks to serve as payment for losses incurred for ditching out of our business partnership," she playfully suggested.

Billy didn't look convinced.

"Billy, we both know you get bored with one woman after a few weeks. You can't stay faithful even if you tried and I need that in a relationship. This deal works for both of us!"

"I'm not so fucking sure you can be trusted Jules," he firmly stated.

"How dare you doubt me Darley? I got the fucking pigs off your back!"

"I saved your ass from Trenor!" Billy fought back.

"I gave you Mission Hill on a silver platter and didn't kill you even though you shot me. That's payment and proof enough Billy!"

Billy stayed quiet and Jules felt frustrated.

"This is a take it or leave it thing Darley. Do not try to hustle me any further because I swear you're going to end up owing me baby cakes."

"I don't know Jules..." Billy replied hesitating. "If we are going to do this, I want you here for at least two months and you're only with me," he demanded.

"No. Six weeks and that is my final offer," Jules stated firmly.

Billy was looking at her with that non-descript expression that he had mastered and used whenever he wanted to conceal his true feelings.

"Fucking fine but I want you only and exclusively with me," he replied in a demanding manner.

"Okay, the timeframe is settled but you just pushed the stakes higher. You will also have to be exclusively with me. If I catch you with any other chicks or even Wallis, I swear I'll set you up with both B-Street and The Hall. I haven't forgotten how to start a turf war!"

Billy lifted one of his eyebrows eyes fixed on her, clearly debating his choices.

Jules gave him a warning look. "I mean it Darley. You saw yesterday what happens to people that dare to cross me."

"Oh I got the message fucking loud and clear Jules! However, if that's the way it's gonna fucking go, you're going to have to give me tons of attention baby. Remember? I'm a very lonely man," Billy sarcastically replied.

"Are you accepting the deal then?" Jules asked.

"I am," Billy replied offering her a naughty smile as he pulled her closer to him.

"Hold up Darley! Do you realize you have two whole months of making up to do and I don't like it when men disappoint me?" Jules pointed out with a smirk.

"You won't be, you know damn well I like to keep my customers satisfied," Billy replied being the one curling up a mischievous smile. "Jules, you better be ready. Round 5 is about to start and it's going to be a long one."

THE END

Chapter End Notes:

_**Sorry it took me a while to post the ending! I hope you enjoyed this fanfic. If you get a chance, drop me a line to see how I did.**_

_**XOX Elle**_

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